Improving Soil Health

Agriculture is one of the biggest contributors to climate change. More sustainable crop production based on agroecological principles is seen as a key solution to this challenge. Understanding and improving soil health is the foundation for this approach.Improving soil health provides a considered assessment of key management strategies to enhance the physical, chemical and biological health of soils in achieving sustainable improvements in crop yields. The book reviews the role of cultivation practices as well as organic and other soil amendments, such as biofertilizers.By assessing the dimensions of soil health, and reviewing the wealth of evidence on how well individual techniques contribute to improving soil, the book shows how farmers can achieve sustainable improvements in both productivity and profitability.Improving soil health will be a standard reference for researchers in soil and crop science, government and other agencies responsible for the health of agricultural soils, companies providing soil monitoring and management services and farmers wishing to further their knowledge on the latest developments in effective soil management.

Dr William Horwath is a Distinguished Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry and J. G. Boswell Endowed Chair in Soil Science at the University of California-Davis, USA, where he is also Faculty Director of the Sustainable Agriculture and Food System undergraduate major. He is the current chair of the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources at the university. Professor Horwath is Editor of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) Journal and is a Fellow of the SSSA. He has published widely on measuring and improving soil health and climate impacts on ecosystems. Dr William Horwath is a Distinguished Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry and J. G. Boswell Endowed Chair in Soil Science at the University of California-Davis, USA, where he is also Faculty Director of the Sustainable Agriculture and Food System undergraduate major. He is the current chair of the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources at the university. Professor Horwath is Editor of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) Journal and is a Fellow of the SSSA. He has published widely on measuring and improving soil health and climate impacts on ecosystems. Dr Richard Hayes is a Senior Research Scientist at the NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wagga Wagga Australia. He has over twenty years experience as a farming systems researcher, specialising in acid soil management, perennial agriculture and species evaluation. Dr Hayes has completed three post-graduate degrees all involving field research on acidic soils, including an examination of the response to lime of self-regenerating annual legumes, the effect of lime on soil water dynamics under perennial forages and the spatial variation of soil pH as it relates to the drill row.