Understanding Soil Change (Soil Sustainability Over Millennia, Centuries, And Decades)

Understanding Soil Change (Soil Sustainability Over Millennia, Centuries, And Decades)

Across the world, soils are managed with an intensity and at a geographic scale never before attempted, yet we know remarkably little about how and why managed soils change through time. Understanding Soil Change explores a legacy of soil change in southeastern North America, from the acidic soils of primary hardwood forests that covered the region until about 1800, through the marked transformations affected by long-cultivated cotton, to contemporary soils of rapidly growing and intensively managed pine forests. These well documented records significantly enrich the science of ecology and pedology, and provide valuable lessons for land management throughout the world. The book calls for the establishment of a global network of soil-ecosystem studies, like the invaluable Calhoun study on which the book is based, to provide further information on sustainable land management, vital as human demands on soil continue to increase.Review"The authors write well ... They have effectively make their case." Earth Sciences History"...a one-of-a-kind book for anyone interested in soils, changes in soils from human activity, and dependence on soils as a source of sustenance....A very readable work with excellent illustrations, figures, and tables, and extensive recommended readings and reference section. Undergraduates through professional; (Recommended for) two-year technical program students." Choice"This marvellous little book tells the story of southeastern US ecosystems from the perspective of soil changes over timescales of decades, centuries and millennia...[It] fills an important niche in the biogeochemical literature, and not only as a regional case study...This study shows the importance of an integrated appraisal of soil dynamics in ecosystem function, and demonstrates the increasing maturity of soil science." Nature"Understanding Soil Change is a pioneering book worthy of follow-ups...clearly written and well illustrated. It was used as a graduate text and is highly recommended to all soil scientists and their students-a fine example of a broad study of major soil changes and their relation to management. It should be no less relevant to ecologists, biologists, and geographers, who too frequently, when describing or studying ecosystems, disregard the importance of soil characteristics, their dynamics, and human impacts on soils." Soil Science"...wonderful book is a great window for biologists into the most imprtant black box on Earth." Dan Binkley, Quarterly Review of Biology"The book is a valued reference to environmental biologists for three reasons. First, the work provides an excellent overview of the challenge of soil sustainability given current and future food and fiber expectations. Second, the authors provide a focused perspective on the importance of time scales and land-use legacies in understanding the specific attributes of soil types found in many warm-temperate and subtropical regions of the world. Finally, and of particular interest, the authors detail the extent to which land use management (i.e. plant community composition) can modify soil characteristics...Many ecologists will find this book useful for both their teaching and their research efforts." Trends in Ecology and Evolution"The book is very well written and pleasant to read ... a good addition to anyone's collection of books on soil and agriculture and forestry."Book DescriptionAn important synthesis of a long-term study in the USA which provides lessons for land management throughout the world.