Bruce C. Ball - Böcker

Includes some fifty edited and revised papers from an international conference on Sustainable Management of Soil Organic Matter, held by the British Society of Soil Science in Edinburgh in September 1999. The book explores the results of recent research studies examining how organic matter functions in soils, factors affecting organic matter quality and quantity and how management of organic matter can be optimised in order to achieve sustainable farming practices.

Visual Soil Evaluation provides land users and environmental authorities with the tools to assess soil quality for crop performance. An important tool for ensuring food security, this book appraises the use of visual soil evaluation in determining the potential of different land types for carbon storage, greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient leaching. Providing a guide to diagnosing and rectifying soil problems, it includes: - Full colour illustrations throughout to show variation of soil quality and aid evaluation - A broad range of land types, from abandoned peats to prime arable land - Assessment of soil structure after quality degradation such as compaction, erosion or organic matter loss Essential reading for students, researchers and scientists interested in soil science and crop production, this book is also a valuable tool for policy makers and environmental authorities. A useful handbook assessing yield potential across a range of scales, it places visual soil evaluation in the context of the future sustainable intensification of agriculture.