Principles of soil conservation and management

Management and conservation of soil and water resources are critical to human well-being.Their prudent use and management are more important now than ever before to meet the high demands for food production and satisfy the needs of an increasing world population.Despite the extensive research and abundant literature on soil and water conservation strategies, concerns of worldwide soil degradation and environmental pollution remain high.Several of the existing textbooks deal with principles of soil erosion, measurement, and modeling of soil erosion, and climatic (rainfall and wind) factors affecting the rate and magnitude of erosion.Yet, a state-of-the-science textbook for graduate and undergraduate students with emphasis on soil management to address the serious problems of soil erosion and the attendant environmental pollution is needed.Managing soils under intensive use and restoring eroded/degraded soils are top priorities to a sustained agronomic and forestry production while conserving soil and water resources.Management must come before conservation for the restoration and improvement of vast areas of world's eroded and degraded soils and ecosystems.Thus, this textbook presents a comprehensive review and discussion of the: (1) severity and implications of soil erosion, (2) principles of management and conservation of soil and water resources, (3) impacts of water, wind and tillage erosion on soil resilience, carbon (C) sequestration and dynamics, CO 2 emissions, and food security, and (4) risks of soil erosion and the attendant relationships with the projected climate change and vice versa.It differs from other textbooks in that it incorporates detailed discussions about biological/agronomic management practices (e.g., no-till systems, organic farming, agroforestry, buffer strips, and crop residues), tillage erosion, C dynamics and sequestration, non-point source pollution (e.g.hypoxia), soil quality and resilience, and the projected global climate change.This textbook specifically links the soil and water conservation issues with the restorative practices, soil resilience, C sequestration under different land use and soil management systems, projected global climate change, and global food security.This textbook also synthesizes current information on a new paradigm of soil management which is soil quality.Being a textbook of global relevance, it links and applies the leading research done in developed countries such as in the USA to contrasting scenarios of soil erosion problems in the developing countries.