Emphasizes engineering design of soil and water conservation practices and their impact on the environment, primarily air and water quality. As in previous editions, the purpose of this book is to provide a professional text for undergraduate and graduate agricultural and biological engineering students and for others interested in soil and water conservation in rural and urban areas. Subject matter includes all the engineering phases of soil and water conservation for a one- or two-semester course.

Precision conservation is a reality, and we are moving towards improved effectiveness of conservation practices by accounting for temporal and spatial variability within and off field. This is the first book to cover the application of the principles of precision conservation to target conservation practices across fields and watersheds. It has clearly been established that the 21st century will present enormous challenges, from increased yield demands to climate change. Without improved conservation practices it will not be possible to ensure food security and conservation effectiveness. Readers will appreciate the application of the precision conservation concept to increase conservation effectiveness in a variety of contexts, with a focus on recent advances in technology, methods, and improved results. IN PRESS! This book is being published according to the “Just Published” model, with more chapters to be published online as they are completed.

“Principles of Soil Management and Conservation” comprehensively reviews the state-of-knowledge on soil erosion and management. It discusses in detail soil conservation topics in relation to soil productivity, environment quality, and agronomic production. It addresses the implications of soil erosion with emphasis on global hotspots and synthesizes available from developed and developing countries. It also critically reviews information on no-till management, organic farming, crop residue management for industrial uses, conservation buffers (e.g., grass buffers, agroforestry systems), and the problem of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and in other regions. This book uniquely addresses the global issues including carbon sequestration, net emissions of CO2, and erosion as a sink or source of C under different scenarios of soil management. It also deliberates the implications of the projected global warming on soil erosion and vice versa. The concern about global food security in relation to soil erosion and strategies for confronting the remaining problems in soil management and conservation are specifically addressed. This volume is suitable for both undergraduate and graduate students interested in understanding the principles of soil conservation and management. The book is also useful for practitioners, extension agents, soil conservationists, and policymakers as an important reference material.

This book is about the main lessons to be learnt from new approaches to soil and water conservation in sub-Saharan Africa. It presents six case studies, two each from Burkina Faso, Kenya and Mali, where soil and water conservation, based on the participation of the local people, has resulted in some success.

In view of the grave consequences of soil degradation on ecosystem functions, food security, biodiversity and human health, this book covers the extent, causes, processes and impacts of global soil degradation, and processes for improvement of degraded soils. Soil conservation measures, including soil amendments, decompaction, mulching, cover cropping, crop rotation, green manuring, contour farming, strip cropping, alley cropping, surface roughening, windbreaks, terracing, sloping agricultural land technology (SALT), dune stabilization, etc., are discussed. Particular emphasis is given to soil pollution and the methods of physical, chemical and biological remediation of polluted soils. This book will lead the reader from the basics to a comprehensive understanding of soil degradation, conservation and remediation.