Humberto Blanco – författare

A changing climate is causing challenges for soil and water management in many parts of the world. Current soil management practices need to be redesigned to effectively address present and future fluctuating climates. This book explores how soil management practices impact soil hydrological characteristics, and how we can improve our understanding of soil and water management under changing conditions. This is a valuable resource for land managers, soil conservationists, researchers and others who wish to understand how different management practices affect soil and water dynamics and how these practices can be adjusted to enhance agricultural sustainability and environmental quality. Features: • Explores the impact of changing climate on soil hydrology and soil water dynamics. • Examines how effective soil management can improve soil health, water infiltration and soil water retention. • Discusses relationships of conservation tillage systems, diversified cropping systems, crop residue management, conservation buffers, and forest land use with soil hydrology. • Provides cases studies of modelling of soil water management.

This collection features four peer-reviewed literature reviews on biodiversity management practices in agriculture.The first chapter reviews biodiversity management practices and benefits in Conservation Agriculture (CA) systems. After looking at the importance of soil microorganisms, the chapter looks at how CA systems contribute to soil biological activity, particularly the way cover crops and rotations, with a no-till regime, can enrich soil and the multitude or organisms living in it.The second chapter synthesizes and reviews the published information on grass hedges and their soil benefits, to better understand the potential of grass hedges for managing water erosion as well as improving soil health in agricultural lands.The third chapter reviews research on ways of modifying the agricultural landscape to reverse the decline in a range of fauna and flora. The chapter also reviews the characteristics and types of field margins, as well as their role in agroecosystems. The chapter concludes with a discussion on managing field margins to promote insect biodiversity and rare arable plant populations.The final chapter considers the impact of agricultural intensification on agricultural landscapes, farming systems and biodiversity. The chapter highlights how hedgerows can contribute to the multifunctionality of agroecosystems in intensively-managed agricultural landscapes, focussing on improved pest regulation and enhanced pollination services.

This updated and expanded second edition textbook, describes all main aspects of soil management, to address the serious problems of soil erosion and the attendant environmental pollution.