Restoring Soil Quality to Mitigate Soil Degradation
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TLDR
In this paper, the authors proposed a strategy to minimize soil erosion, create positive organic carbon (SOC) and N budgets, enhance activity and species diversity of soil biota (micro, meso, and macro), and improve structural stability and pore geometry.Abstract:
Feeding the world population, 7.3 billion in 2015 and projected to increase to 9.5 billion by 2050, necessitates an increase in agricultural production of ~70% between 2005 and 2050. Soil degradation, characterized by decline in quality and decrease in ecosystem goods and services, is a major constraint to achieving the required increase in agricultural production. Soil is a non-renewable resource on human time scales with its vulnerability to degradation depending on complex interactions between processes, factors and causes occurring at a range of spatial and temporal scales. Among the major soil degradation processes are accelerated erosion, depletion of the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool and loss in biodiversity, loss of soil fertility and elemental imbalance, acidification and salinization. Soil degradation trends can be reversed by conversion to a restorative land use and adoption of recommended management practices. The strategy is to minimize soil erosion, create positive SOC and N budgets, enhance activity and species diversity of soil biota (micro, meso, and macro), and improve structural stability and pore geometry. Improving soil quality (i.e., increasing SOC pool, improving soil structure, enhancing soil fertility) can reduce risks of soil degradation (physical, chemical, biological and ecological) while improving the environment. Increasing the SOC pool to above the critical level (10 to 15 g/kg) is essential to set-in-motion the restorative trends. Site-specific techniques of restoring soil quality include conservation agriculture, integrated nutrient management, continuous vegetative cover such as residue mulch and cover cropping, and controlled grazing at appropriate stocking rates. The strategy is to produce “more from less” by reducing losses and increasing soil, water, and nutrient use efficiency.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Reforestation of a Degraded Area with Eucalyptus and Sesbania: Microbial Activity and Chemical Soil Properties
Vanderlan de Oliveira Paulucio,Cristiane Figueira da Silva,Marco Antonio Martins,Marcos Gervasio Pereira,Jolimar Antonio Schiavo,Luciana Aparecida Rodrigues +5 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the influence of monospecific and mixed stands of Sesbania virgata and Eucalyptus camaldulensis on the chemical properties and microbial activity of the soil in a degraded area by clay extraction in the northern part of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Journal ArticleDOI
Identifying the spatial drivers and scale-specific variations of soil organic carbon in tropical ecosystems: A case study from Knuckles Forest Reserve in Sri Lanka
R.P.S.K. Rajapaksha,Senani Karunaratne,Asim Biswas,Keryn I. Paul,H. M. S. P. Madawala,S.K. Gunathilake,R.R. Ratnayake +6 more
TL;DR: In this article, an empirical mode decomposition (EMD) analysis was carried out to examine the scale specific variability of soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks at different spatial scales.
Journal ArticleDOI
Cattle manure compost and biochar supplementation improve growth of Onobrychis viciifolia in coal-mined spoils under water stress conditions
Rana Roy,Rana Roy,Avelino Núñez-Delgado,Jinxin Wang,Jinxin Wang,Abdul Kader,Tanwne Sarker,Ahmed Khairul Hasan,Turgay Dindaroglu +8 more
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of three different variables on morpho-physiological and biochemical parameters of Onobrychis viciifolia to assess the capability of this species to be used for restoration purposes were investigated.
Journal ArticleDOI
Factors Constraining the Adoption of Soil Organic Carbon Enhancing Technologies Among Small-Scale Farmers in Ethiopia
Wilson Maina Nguru,Charles K. K. Gachene,Cecilia M. Onyango,Stanley Karanja Ng'ang'a,Evan H. Girvetz +4 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the extent of adoption of technologies that enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) enhancing technologies, such as manure, fertilizer and crop residue management, in the Azuga-suba and Yesir watersheds in Ethiopia.
Journal ArticleDOI
Potential of Renewable Energy in Jamaica’s Power Sector: Feasibility Analysis of Biogas Production for Electricity Generation
D. Richards,Helmut Yabar +1 more
TL;DR: In this article , the authors explored the feasibility of biogas feasibility in Jamaica and discussed the potential for electricity generation from combinations of dairy cow and Swine feces with sugarcane bagasse.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security.
TL;DR: In this article, the carbon sink capacity of the world’s agricultural and degraded soils is 50 to 66% of the historic carbon loss of 42 to 78 gigatons of carbon.
Journal ArticleDOI
Organic matter and water-stable aggregates in soils
Judith. Tisdall,J.M. Oades +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the effectiveness of various binding agents at different stages in the structural organization of aggregates is described and forms the basis of a model which illustrates the architecture of an aggregate.
Journal ArticleDOI
Environmental and Economic Costs of Soil Erosion and Conservation Benefits
David Pimentel,Celia A. Harvey,P. Resosudarmo,K. Sinclair,D. Kurz,M. McNair,S. Crist,L. Shpritz,L. Fitton,R. Saffouri,R. Blair +10 more
TL;DR: With the addition of a quarter of a million people each day, the world population's food demand is increasing at a time when per capita food productivity is beginning to decline.
Journal ArticleDOI
Soil Quality: A Concept, Definition, and Framework for Evaluation (A Guest Editorial)
Douglas L. Karlen,Maurice J. Mausbach,John W. Doran,R. G. Cline,R. F. Harris,Gerald E. Schuman +5 more
TL;DR: The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) Ad Hoc Committee on Soil Quality (S-581) as mentioned in this paper defined soil quality as "the capacity (of soil) to function".
Journal ArticleDOI
持続可能性(Sustainability)の要件
TL;DR: The Bachelor of Science in Sustainability as discussed by the authors provides the broad fundamental knowledge, skills and competencies needed to drive sustainable outcomes that address today's urgent environmental, economic and social challenges.
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