Soil Health and Intensification of Agroecosystems

Mahdi Al-Kaisi is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Agronomy, at Iowa State University. He has over 30 years of research and outreach expertise in the area of soil carbon dynamics and the interaction of climate and agriculture production systems. His research focuses on the effects of crops and tillage systems, crop residue, cover crops, and nitrogen application on soil carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions, and ecosystem services. As a result of his research, he developed many management tools such as soil carbon index for soils in Iowa, erosion and residue calculators. Dr. Al-Kaisi is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, the Soil Science Society of America, and Soil and Water Conservation Society. Birl Lowery is an Emeritus Professor of Soil Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). He held positions ranging from Assistant Professor to Professor from 1980 to 2014 at UW-Madison, and Senior Associate Dean in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences from 2010 to 2013. In 1973 he obtained a B.S. degree in Agricultural Education from Alcorn University, an M.A. degree in Agricultural Engineering in 1975 from Mississippi State University, and Ph.D. in Soil Physics in 1980 from Oregon State University. His area of research was applied soil physics, which included research on soil temperature and water regimes, erosion, compaction, contaminant flow in soil, and groundwater quality. He and his students and colleagues published their research findings extensively in a wide range of journals, proceedings, popular press, and book chapters. He has served as Associate Editor for numerous journals over his career.

• 1. Fundamentals and Functions of Soil Environment2. Climate Variability Effects on Agriculture Land Use and Soil Services3. Soil Health Concerns Facing Dryland Agroecosystems4. Conservation Agriculture Systems to Mitigate Climate Variability Effects on Soil Health5. Conventional Agricultural Production Systems and Soil Functions6. Integration of Annual and Perennial Cover Crops for Improving Soil Health7. Perennial-Based Agricultural Systems and Livestock Impact on Soil and Ecological Services8. Intensified Agroecosystems and Their Effects on Soil Biodiversity and Soil Functions9. Intensified Agroecosystems and Changes in Soil Carbon Dynamics10. Agroecosystem Net Primary Productivity and Carbon Footprint11. Nutrient Cycling and Soil Biology in Row Crop Systems under Intensive Tillage12. Row-Crop Production Practices Effects on Greenhouse Gas Emissions13. Low-Input and Intensified Crop Production Systems Effects on Soil Health and Environment14. Agroforestry Practices and Soil Ecosystem Services15. Targeted Use of Perennial Grass Biomass Crops in and Around Annual Crop Production Fields to Improve Soil Health16. Biotechnology Impacts on Soil and Environmental Services