World Soil Resources and Food Security
Features
• Addresses issues related to food security and soil resource adequacy for the increasing world population
• Discusses the status of soil degradation and desertification throughout the world
• Presents strategies for nutrient management in soils
• Provides innovative soil and water management options
• Includes up-to-date information on food demand and regional gaps
• Contains numerous illustrations, tables, and equations
Summary
Soil—The Basis of All Terrestrial Life
Ancient civilizations and cultures—Mayan, Aztec, Mesopotamian, Indus, and Yangtze—were built on good soils, surviving only as long as soils had the capacity to support them. In the twenty-first century, productive soil is still the engine of economic development and essential to human well-being. The quality of our soil resources, however, is threatened by human-induced and natural perturbations.
World Soil Resources and Food Security takes an in-depth look at the availability and status of soil resources in the context of the growing demands of an increasing world population and rising expectations of living standards. This timely reference presents current information on the soil resources available for food production. Presenting innovative strategies for soil and water management, it discusses how to maintain or improve the world’s soil resources in order to increase food production. With the majority of the world’s 1.02 billion food-insecure people concentrated in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, several chapters focus on soil resources in these regions.
Contributions from renowned scientists deal with topics including:
• Global food situations
• World soil resources
• Soil resources of humid Asia and their acidification
• Soil resources of South Asia
• Properties and management of Vertisols
• Use of radioisotopic techniques in soil management
• The potential of rain-fed agriculture in the semiarid tropics
• The status of land degradation
• Nutrient balance in sub-Saharan Africa
The book concludes by outlining the need for further research to generate credible data on soil resources and degradation. This volume is a useful resource for those interested in the state of the soils of the world in relation to food security and environmental quality.
Contents
Sustainable Management of Soil Resources and Food Security; Rattan Lal and B.A. Stewart
Global Food Situation and Unresolved and Emerging Issues; Shahla Shapouri, Stacey Rosen, and Summer Allen
World Soil Resources: Opportunities and Challenges; H. Eswaran, P.F. Reich, and E. Padmanabhan
Soil Resources and Human Adaptation in Forest and Agricultural Ecosystems in Humid Asia; S. Funakawa, T. Watanabe, A. Kadono, A. Nakao, K. Fujii, and T. Kosaki
Pedogenetic Acidification in Upland Soils under Different Bioclimatic Conditions in Humid Asia; S. Funakawa, T. Watanabe, A. Nakao, K. Fujii, and T. Kosaki
Soil Resources Affecting Food Security and Safety in South Asia; Tapan J. Purakayastha, Bal Ram Singh, R. P. Narwal, and Promod K. Chhonkar
Formation and Management of Cracking Clay Soils (Vertisols) to Enhance Crop Productivity: Indian Experience; D. K. Pal, T. Bhattacharyya, and Suhas P. Wani
Role of Nuclear and Isotopic Techniques in Sustainable Land Management: Achieving Food Security and Mitigating Impacts of Climate Change; Long Nguyen, Felipe Zapata, Rattan Lal, and Gerd Dercon
New Paradigm to Unlock the Potential of Rainfed Agriculture in the Semiarid Tropics; Suhas P. Wani, Johan Rockstrom, B. Venkateswarlu, and A. K. Singh
Land Degradation; Freddy O. Nachtergaele, Monica Petri, and Riccardo Biancalani
Where Do We Stand 20 Years after the Assessment of Soil Nutrient Balances in Sub-Saharan Africa? E. M. A. Smaling, J. P. Lesschen, C. L. van Beek, A. de Jager, J. J. Stoorvogel, N. H. Batjes, and L. O. Fresco
Research Needs for Credible Data on Soil Resources and Degradation; Rattan Lal
