The Black Earth: Ecological Principles for Sustainable Agriculture on Chernozem Soils (International Year of Planet Earth Book 10)

Soil Is The Earth’s Living Skin. It Provides Anchorage For Roots, Holds Water Long Enough For Plants To Make Use Of It And The Nutrients That Sustain Life – Otherwise The Earth Would Be As Barren As Mars. It Is Home To Myriad Micro-organisms And Armies Of Microscopic Animals As Well As The Familiar Earthworm That Accomplish Biochemical Transformations From Fixing Atmospheric Nitrogen To Recycling Wastes; It Receives And Process All Fresh Water, Provides The Foundations For Our Built Environment; And Comprises The Biggest Global Carbon Store That We Know How To Manage. This Book Is About The Best Soil In The World - The Black Earth Or Chernozem: How It Is Being Degraded By Farming And How It May Be Farmed Sustainably. Industrialisation Of Farming Has Laid Bare Contradictions Between The Unforgiving Laws Of Ecology And Economics.^ Soil Organic Matter Is The Fuel That Powers Soil Systems And The Cement That Holds The Soil Together – And In Place – But Agriculture Is Burning It Up Faster Than It Is Being Formed: Even The Chernozem Cannot Long Survive This Treatment. Here Is The Evidence For This Trend And, Based On Long-term Field Experiments, Ecological Principles For Sustainable Agriculture That Can Reverse The Trend And, At The Same Time, Feed The World. Unlike Other Volumes In The Series, This Is Not An Edited Collection Of Scientific Papers. The Authors Have Chosen The Classical Monograph To Be Near To The Reader From Beginning To End - To Convey Their Anxiety About The State Of The Land And Their Optimism About The Possibility Of Retrieving The Situation By Changing The Social And Political Approach To The Land So As To Provide The Necessary Incentives For Sustainable Land Use And Management.^ About The Authors Igori Krupenikov Is Soil Scientist, Emeritus Professor, Honoured Member Of The Moldovan Academy Of Sciences And State Laureate, Working At The Nicolai Dimo Institute Of Soil Science And Agrochemistry In Chisinau. boris Boincean Is Agronomist, Long-time Director And Continuing Head Of The Department Of Sustainable Farming Systems Of The Selectia Research Institute For Field Crops And Also Professor At The Aleco Russo State University At Balti, In Moldova. david Dent Is Former Director Of Isric - World Soil Information In Wageningen, Awarded The Australian Centenary Medallion For Scientific Leadership Of The National Action Plan For Salinity And Water Quality, And Long-time Teacher And Researcher At The School Of Environmental Sciences, University Of East Anglia. Preface -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The Soil Cover -- 3. Soil Texture And Structure -- 4. Soil Mineralogy And Elemental Composition -- 5. Adsorption Capacity And Reaction -- 6. Soluble Salts And Soil Solution -- 7. Humus - The Guardian Of Soil Fertility And Global Carbon Sink -- 8. The Nitrogen Riddle -- 9. Phosphorus And Sulphur Budgets -- 10. Life In The Soil -- 11. Soil Structure, Soil Water And Drought -- 12. The Chernozem Family -- 13. Accomodating Soil Diversity -- 14. Society's Perspective -- 15. Biological Cycles -- 16. Soil Health And Soil Quality -- 17. Farming And Soil Health -- 18. Experimental Confirmation Of The Efficiency Of Various Farming Systems -- 19. The Past, Present And Future Of The Chernozem. By David Dent, Boris P. Boincean, Igori Arcadie Krupenikov. Foreword 7 Series Preface 10 Preface 12 Contents 14 List of Figures 17 List of Tables 21 Part I The State of the Land and Its Management 25 Introduction 26 In Essence 26 A Short History 28 References 30 Part II The Anatomy of the Black Earth 32 The Soil Cover 33 The Pattern of Soil Cover 33 Sui Generis 37 Soil Sustainability 39 References 40 Soil Texture and Structure 41 Soil Texture 41 Soil Structure 42 References 47 Soil Mineralogy and Elemental Composition 48 Mineralogy 48 Total Chemical Analysis 50 References 53 Adsorption Capacity and Reaction 54 Adsorption Capacity 54 Reaction 55 References 56 Soluble Salts and Soil Solution 57 Soluble Salts 57 Soil Solution 58 References 58 Humus – Guardian of Fertility and Global Carbon Sink 59 Its Significance for Farming 59 The Global Carbon Sink: Soils and Climatic Change 61 Humus Stocks and Trends 62 Losses of Humus Under the Plough 63 The Quality of Humus 65 References 69 The Nitrogen Riddle 71 Nitrogen in Soils and Agriculture 71 Nitrates in the Environment 75 References 76 Phosphorus and Sulphur Budgets 77 Phosphorus 77 Sulphur 79 References 81 Life in the Soil 82 Soil Biodiversity 82 References 85 Soil Structure, Soil Water and Drought 87 Biological Control on Soil Physical Attributes 87 Stable and Unstable Attributes 88 Available Water Capacity 90 Drought 91 References 93 The Chernozem Family 94 Family Relationships 94 Calcareous Chernozem 96 Common Chernozem 98 Xerophyte-Wooded Chernozem 98 Typical Chernozem 100 Leached Chernozem 102 Podzolized Chernozem 103 Land Evaluation and Land Degradation 104 References 104 Accommodating Soil Diversity 106 Soil Variability and Precision Farming 106 References 109 Society's Perspective 110 Soils and Society 110 Agricultural Priorities 111 References 112 Part III Principles of Ecological Agriculture 113 Biological Cycles 114 Biological Cycling of Soil Organic Matter 114 Energy Balance of Arable Systems 115 Nutrient Balance of Arable Systems 115 References 118 Soil Health and Soil Quality 119 The Imperative of Change 119 An Ecological Alternative 120 References 121 Farming and Soil Health 122 Natural Ecosystems and Agroecosystems 122 Principles of Sustainability 123 Land Use Planning 123 Crop Rotation 123 Compost and Manure 129 Minimum Tillage 129 Issues of Productivity 130 Breaking the Law 130 Issues of Resilience 131 References 132 Experimental Confirmation of the Efficiency of Different Farming Systems 133 The Fertility of Chernozem 133 The Mathematical Equations 134 Changes in Soil Organic Matter Stocks and Crop Yields Under Different Farming Systems 138 References 140 The Past, Present and Future of the Chernozem 142 Curriculum Vitae 142 Future Scenarios 147 Conclusion 148 References 149 Author Index 150 Subject Index 152 Annotation. Soil is the Earthâ€TMs living skin. It provides anchorage for roots, holds water long enough for plants to make use of it and the nutrients that sustain life – otherwise the Earth would be as barren as Mars. It is home to myriad micro-organisms and armies of microscopic animals as well as the familiar earthworm that accomplish biochemical transformations from fixing atmospheric nitrogen to recycling wastes; it receives and process all fresh water, provides the foundations for our built environment; and comprises the biggest global carbon store that we know how to manage. This book is about the best soil in the world - the black earth or chernozem: how it is being degraded by farming and how it may be farmed sustainably. Industrialisation of farming has laid bare contradictions between the unforgiving laws of ecology and economics. Soil organic matter is the fuel that powers soil systems and the cement that holds the soil together – and in place – but agriculture is burning it up faster than it is being formed: even the chernozem cannot long survive this treatment. Here is the evidence for this trend and, based on long-term field experiments, ecological principles for sustainable agriculture that can reverse the trend and, at the same time, feed the world. Unlike other volumes in the series, this is not an edited collection of scientific papers. The authors have chosen the classical monograph to be near to the reader from beginning to end - to convey their anxiety about the state of the land and their optimism about the possibility of retrieving the situation by changing the social and political approach to the land so as to provide the necessary incentives for sustainable land use and management Front Matter....Pages i-xxvi Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Introduction....Pages 3-8 Front Matter....Pages 9-9 The Soil Cover....Pages 11-18 Soil Texture and Structure....Pages 19-25 Soil Mineralogy and Elemental Composition....Pages 27-32 Adsorption Capacity and Reaction....Pages 33-35 Soluble Salts and Soil Solution....Pages 37-38 Humus – Guardian of Fertility and Global Carbon Sink....Pages 39-50 The Nitrogen Riddle....Pages 51-56 Phosphorus and Sulphur Budgets....Pages 57-61 Life in the Soil....Pages 63-67 Soil Structure, Soil Water and Drought....Pages 69-75 The Chernozem Family....Pages 77-88 Accommodating Soil Diversity....Pages 89-92 Society’s Perspective....Pages 93-95 Front Matter....Pages 97-97 Biological Cycles....Pages 99-103 Soil Health and Soil Quality....Pages 105-107 Farming and Soil Health....Pages 109-119 Experimental Confirmation of the Efficiency of Different Farming Systems....Pages 121-129 The Past, Present and Future of the Chernozem....Pages 131-138 Back Matter....Pages 139-143