Forward. A call for integrated soil fertility management in Africa. Introduction. ISFM and the African farmer. Part I. The principles of ISFM: ISFM as a strategic goal, Fertilizer management within ISFM, Agro-minerals in ISFM, Organic resource management, ISFM, soil biota and soil health. Part II. ISFM practices: ISFM products and fields practices, ISFM practice in drylands, ISFM practice in savannas and woodlands, ISFM practice in the humid forest zone, Conservation Agriculture. Part III. The process of implementing ISFM: soil fertility diagnosis, soil fertility management advice, Dissemination of ISFM technologies, Designing an ISFM adoption project, ISFM at farm and landscape scales. Part IV. The social dimensions of ISFM: The role of ISFM in gender empowerment, ISFM and household nutrition, Capacity building in ISFM, ISFM in the policy arena, Marketing support for ISFM, Advancing ISFM in Africa. Appendices: Mineral nutrient contents of some common organic resources.

World Bank Technical Paper No. 408. This report is a critical review of the technical, economic, and institutional constraints on improving soil fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the actions recommended to address them. Action plans prepared for Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Mali examine the demand for and supply of mineral fertilizers, the exploitation of local mineral resources, the prevention of soil erosion and increasing soil-water retention, and soil fertility management using organic technologies and management practices.

Both nutrient scarcities and surpluses alike can threaten this balance.

This book addresses in detail multifaceted approaches to boosting nutrient use efficiency (NUE) that are modified by plant interactions with environmental variables and combine physiological, microbial, biotechnological and agronomic aspects. Conveying an in-depth understanding of the topic will spark the development of new cultivars and strains to induce NUE, coupled with best management practices that will immensely benefit agricultural systems, safeguarding their soil, water, and air quality. Written by recognized experts in the field, the book is intended to provide students, scientists and policymakers with essential insights into holistic approaches to NUE, as well as an overview of some successful case studies. In the present understanding of agriculture, NUE represents a question of process optimization in response to the increasing fragility of our natural resources base and threats to food grain security across the globe. Further improving nutrient use efficiency is a prerequisite to reducing production costs, expanding crop acreage into non-competitive marginal lands with low nutrient resources, and preventing environmental contamination. The nutrients most commonly limiting plant growth are N, P, K, S and micronutrients like Fe, Zn, B and Mo. NUE depends on the ability to efficiently take up the nutrient from the soil, but also on transport, storage, mobilization, usage within the plant and the environment. A number of approaches can help us to understand NUE as a whole. One involves adopting best crop management practices that take into account root-induced rhizosphere processes, which play a pivotal role in controlling nutrient dynamics in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. New technologies, from basic tools like leaf color charts to sophisticated sensor-based systems and laser land leveling, can reduce the dependency on laboratory assistance and manual labor. Another approach concerns the development of crop plants through genetic manipulations that allow them to take up and assimilate nutrients more efficiently, as well as identifying processes of plant responses to nutrient deficiency stress and exploring natural genetic variation. Though only recently introduced, the ability of microbial inoculants to induce NUE is gaining in importance, as the loss, immobilization, release and availability of nutrients are mediated by soil microbial processes.

Climate change is one of the major challenges of modern times. Its impacts are manifold and vary from sea level rise (especially relevant to those living in coastal areas), to the increased frequency of extreme events such as cyclones and storm surges, which not only poses problems to property and infrastructure, but also to human health. Climate change is also associated with damages to the physical and natural environment, as well as to biodiversity. According to the 5th Assessment Report produced by the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), many geographical regions across the world are moderately or highly vulnerable to climate change, whose impacts may be further exacerbated by other human-induced pressures. The above state of affairs illustrates the need for a better and more holistic understanding of how climate change affects countries and regions on the one hand, but also on how the many problems it causes may be managed on the other, vis-a-vis a better ability to adapt. There is also a perceived need to showcase successful examples of how to duly address and manage the many social, economic and political problems posed by climate change around the world, in order to replicate and even upscale the successful ones. It is against this background that the Handbook of Climate Change Management has been produced. It contains papers prepared by scholars, social movements, practitioners and members of governmental agencies, undertaking research and/or executing climate change projects, and working with communities across all geographical regions. The Handbook focuses on "Research, Leadership, Transformation," meaning that it serves the purpose of showcasing the role these key areas play in respect of applied research, field projects and best practices to foster climate change adaptation worldwide.