The Earth as Transformed by Human Action is the culmination of a mammoth undertaking involving the examination of the toll our continual strides forward, technical and social, take on our world. The purpose of such a study is to document the changes in the biosphere that have taken place over the last 300 years, to contrast global patterns of change to those appearing on a regional level, and to explain the major human forces that have driven these changes. The first section deals strictly with the major human forces of the past 300 years and the second is a detailed account of the transformations of the global environment wrought by human action. The final section examines a range of perspectives and theories that purport to explain human actions with regard to the biosphere.

"In this breakthrough work--now available in English for the first time--the independent German-Norwegian explorer of soil life, graduate permaculture designer and graduate engineer Herwig Pommeresche shares his lifetime of research into humus. His entire career has focused on the theory and practice of humus management in gardening and farming. Digging deep into a myriad of little-known research papers, he compares their findings with the usual conventional methods. He found we have an inadequate understanding of the mechanisms by which plants absorb and process their nutrients. Our conventional model is that plants only get nutrients in the form of water-soluble salts, hence common conventional fertilizers. Fertilization methods in agriculture and horticulture have been based on this model, which the author calls "mineral model," since the mid-nineteenth century. They largely have not been questioned since then despite the problems they cause. But there are also works by scientists--decades deep research--which have found a completely different form of plant nutrition. Plants can, in simple terms, by "eversion" of their fine root cells take larger food particles and transport it inside the cell. They can also take up larger molecules and even entire cells--and this is what's interesting--even in living form, a process known as endocytosis, a phenomenon long known in zoology and microbiology. Too little is known that this is also practiced by higher plants. Understanding plants nutrient uptake and the role of humus in the process will put modern agricultural practice to the test."--Back cover.

Now you can tap the source of many of agriculture¿s most popular progressive farming tools. Ideas now commonplace in the industry, such as ¿crop and soil weatherproofing,¿ the ¿row support system,¿ and the ¿tillage commandments,¿ exemplify the practicality of the soil/root maintenance program that serves as the foundation for Schriefer¿s highly-successful ¿systems approach¿ farming. A veteran teacher, lecturer and writer, Schriefer¿s ideas are clear, straightforward and practical.

Fertility Farming explores an approach that makes minimal use of plowing, eschews chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and emphasizes soil fertility via crop rotation, composting, cover cropping and manure application.Turner holds that the foundation of the effectiveness of nature¿s husbandry is a fertile soil ¿ and the measure of a fertile soil is its content of organic matter, ultimately, its humus. Upon a basis of humus, nature builds a complete structure of healthy life ¿ without need for disease control. In fact, as disease is the outcome of unbalancing of the natural order ¿ it serves as a warning that something is wrong. Not just theory, this book was written to serve as a practical guide for farmer