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The maintenance of healthy soil resources is instrumental to the success of an array of global efforts and initiatives. Whether they are working to combat food shortages, conserve our ecosystems, or mitigate the impact of climate change, researchers and agriculturalists the world over must be able to correctly examine and understand the complex nature of this essential resource. These new volumes have been designed to meet this need, addressing the many dimensions of soil health analysis in chapters that are concise, accessible and applicable to the tasks at hand.
Soil Health, Volume 2: Laboratory Methods for Soil Health Analysis provides explanations of the best practices by which one may arrive at valuable, comparable data and incisive conclusions, and covers topics including:
- Sampling considerations and field evaluations
- Assessment and interpretation of soil-test biological activity
- Macro- and micronutrients in soil quality and health
- PLFA and EL-FAME indicators
Offering a practical guide to collecting and understanding soil health data, this volume will be of great interest to all those working in agriculture, private sector businesses, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academic-, state-, and federal-research projects, as well as state and federal soil conservation, water quality and other environmental programs.
Dedication v
Foreword ix
Preface xiii
1. Laboratory Methods for Soil Health Assessment: An Overview 1 / Steven R. Shafer, Douglas L. Karlen, Paul W. Tracy, Cristine L.S. Morgan, and C. Wayne Honeycutt
2. Sampling Considerations and Field Evaluations for Soil Health Assessment 17 / Mark A. Liebig, Dennis Chessman, Jonathan J. Halvorson, and Roberto Luciano
3. Soil Organic Carbon Assessment Methods 38 / Charles W. Rice, Carlos B. Pires, James Lin, and Marcos V. M. Sarto
4. Water-Stable Soil Aggregate Assessment 52 / Maysoon M. Mikha and Skye Wills
5. Determination of Infiltration Rate and Bulk Density in Soils 69 / Jalal D. Jabro and Maysoon M. Mikha
6. Chemical Reactivity: pH, Salinity and Sodicity Effects on Soil Health 78 / Yaakov Anker, Vladimir Mirlas, Michael Zilberbrand, and Adi Oren
7. Nutrient Availability: Macro- and Micronutrients in Soil Quality and Health 109 / James A. Ippolito
8. Assessment and Interpretation of Soil-Test Biological Activity 126 / Alan J. Franzluebbers
9. Permanganate Oxidizable Carbon: An Indicator of Biologically Active Soil Carbon 152 / Steve W. Culman, Tunsisa T. Hurisso, and Jordon Wade
10. Is Autoclaved Citrate-Extractable (ACE) Protein a Viable Indicator of Soil Nitrogen Availability? 176 / Tunsisa T. Hurisso and Steve W. Culman
11. Metabolic Activity – Enzymes 194 / Verónica Acosta-Martínez, Lumarie Pérez-Guzmán, Kristen S. Veum, Márcio R. Nunes, and Richard P. Dick
12. PLFA and EL-FAME Indicators of Microbial Community Composition 251 / Kristen S. Veum, Veronica Acosta-Martinez, R. Michael Lehman, Chenhui Li, Amanda Cano, and Marcio R. Nunes
13. Microbial Community Composition, Diversity, and Function 289 / D. K. Manter, J. M. Moore, R. M. Lehman, and A. K. Hamm
Epilogue 324
Douglas L. Karlen is internationally recognized for his soil health and sustainable agricultural research and technology transfer program. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS), editor/co-editor for seven books, and author or co-author of more than 425 refereed journal, book chapter, and proceedings publications.
Diane E. Stott conducted internationally recognized research focused on crop and soil management impacts on soil health, soil organic matter cycling, enzyme activities and soil erodibility and soil health. She is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) and author or co-author of more than 115 refereed journal, book chapter, and proceedings publications.
Maysoon M. Mikha is nationally and internationally recognized for her agronomic research addressing soil quality/health and land sustainability. She received The Conservation Research Award from the SWCS and was recognized by the SSSA for her excellent editorial skills. She authored and co-authored more than 100 refereed journals, book chapters, and proceedings.
