Today's approach to crop production considers not only the effects of fertilizer applications on crop yield and quality but also includes awareness of the potential of fertilizer nutrients to adversely affect the environment. Managing crop nutrients deliberately and carefully takes on special significance in Hawaii, where imported nutrient inputs are costly and the environment--particularly the underground aquifer and coastal waters--is vulnerable to pollution. This book contains a distillation of decades of CTAHR research on soils, fertilizers, and crop nutrient needs, written for the lay reader and intended to provide a solid base of knowledge for the serious agriculturist. While the text makes reference to Hawaii's crops and soil conditions, its basic information is transferrable to similar tropical and subtropical locations throughout the world.

Aimed at taking the mystery out of soil science, Soils: Principles, Properties and Management is a text for undergraduate/graduate students who study soil as a natural resource. Written in a reader-friendly style, with a host of examples, figures and tables, the book leads the reader from the basics of soil science through to complex situations, covering such topics as: the origin, development and classification of soil physical, chemical and biological properties of soil water and nutrient management management of problem soils, wetland soils and forest soils soil degradation Further, the ecological and agrological functions of soil are emphasized in the context of food security, biodiversity and climate change. The interactions between the environment and soil management are highlighted. Soil is viewed as an ecosystem itself and as a part of larger terrestrial ecosystems.

The availability or lack of nutrients shapes ecosystems in fundamental ways. From forest productivity to soil fertility, from the diversity of animals to the composition of microbial communities, nutrient cycling and limitation are the basic mechanisms underlying ecosystem ecology. In this book, Peter Vitousek builds on over twenty years of research in Hawai'i to evaluate the controls and consequences of variation in nutrient availability and limitation. Integrating research from geochemistry, pedology, atmospheric chemistry, ecophysiology, and ecology, Vitousek addresses fundamental questions: How do the cycles of different elements interact? How do biological processes operating in minutes or hours interact with geochemical processes operating over millions of years? How does biological diversity interact with nutrient cycling and limitation in ecosystems? The Hawaiian Islands provide the author with an excellent model system for answering these questions as he integrates across levels of biological organization. He evaluates the connections between plant nutrient use efficiency, nutrient cycling and limitation within ecosystems, and nutrient input-output budgets of ecosystems. This book makes use of the Hawaiian ecosystems to explore the mechanisms that shape productivity and diversity in ecosystems throughout the world. It will be essential reading for all ecologists and environmental scientists.

Long-awaited second edition of classic textbook, brought completely up to date, for courses on tropical soils, and reference for scientists and professionals.