Approaches to Soil Health Analysis, Volume 1. Группа авторов

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Approaches to Soil Health Analysis, Volume 1 - Группа авторов


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shift by removing the traditional data barriers. Specifically, these new methods can provide large amounts of data at relatively low cost. The valuable observation is made that systems focusing only on topsoils cannot adequately represent soil behavior in space and time. Subsoil properties, expressed in soil classification, have significant and very important effects on many soil functions. Numerous physical, chemical and biological methods are reviewed in Volume 2. Six chapters deal with soil biological methods, correctly reflecting the need to move beyond the traditional emphasis on physical and chemical assessment methods. After all, soils are very much alive!

      The book Soil Health nicely illustrates the “roots” of the soil health concept within the soil science profession. It also indicates the way soil health can provide “wings” to the profession as a creative and innovative partner in future environmental research and innovation.

       Johan BoumaEmmeritus Professor of Soil ScienceWageningen UniversityThe Netherlands

      1 Bouma, J. (2014). Soil science contributions towards Sustainable Development Goals and their implementation: Linking soil functions with ecosystem services. J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci. 177(2), 111–120. doi:10.1002/jpln.201300646

      2 Bouma, J., Montanarella, L., and Vanylo, G.E. (2019). The challenge for the soil science community to contribute to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Soil Use Manage. 35(4), 538–546. doi:10.1111/sum.12518

      3 Field, D.J., Morgan, C.L.S., and Mc Bratney, A.C., editors. (2017). Global soil security. Progress in Soil Science. Springer Int. Publ., Switzerland. doi:10.1007/978‐3‐319‐43394‐3

      Preface

      This two‐volume series on Soil Health was written and edited during a very unique time in global history. Initiated in 2017, it was intended to simply be an update for the “Blue” and “Green” soil quality books entitled Defining Soil Quality for a Sustainable Environment and Methods for Assessing Soil Quality that were published by the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) in the 1990s. In reality, the project was completed in 2020 as the United States and world were reeling from the Covid‐19 coronavirus pandemic, wide‐spread protest against discriminatory racial violence, and partisan differences between people concerned about economic recovery versus protecting public health.

      Many factors have contributed to the global evolution of soil health as a focal point for protecting, improving, and sustaining the fragile soil resources that are so important for all of humanity. Building for decades on soil conservation principles and the guidance given by Hugh Hammond Bennett and many other leaders associated with those efforts, soil health gradually is becoming recognized by many different segments of global society. Aligned closely with soil security, improving soil health as a whole will greatly help the United Nations (UN) achieve their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Consistent with soil health goals, the SDGs emphasize the significance of soil resources for food production, water availability, climate mitigation, and biodiversity (Bouma, 2019).

      Advancing around 1500 yr, science was again introduced into agriculture through Joannes Baptista Van Helmont’s (1577–1644 CE) experiment with a willow tree. Although the initial data were misinterpreted, Justice von Liebig (1803–1873 CE) eventually clarified that carbon (C) in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2) came from the atmosphere, hydrogen and oxygen from air and water, and other essential minerals to support plant growth and development from the soil. Knowledge of soil development, mineralogy, chemistry, physics, biology, and biochemistry as well as the impact of soil management (tillage, fertilization, amendments, etc.) and cropping practices (rotations, genetics, varietal development, etc.) evolved steadily throughout the past 150 yr. SO, what does this history have to do with these 21st Century Soil Health books?

      Second, just like the Blue and Green books published just twenty years after the soil health concept was introduced, these volumes, written after two more decades of research, continue to reflect a “work in progress.” Change within the soil science profession has never been simple as indicated by Hartemink and Anderson (2020) in their summary reflecting 100 yr of soil science in the United States. They stated that in 1908, the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) established a committee on soil classification and mapping, but it took 6 yr before the first report was issued, and on doing so, the committee disbanded because there was no consensus among members. From that perspective, progress toward understanding and using soil health principles to protect and preserve our fragile soil resources is indeed progressing. With utmost gratitude and respect we thank the authors, reviewers, and especially, the often‐forgotten technical support personnel who are striving to continue the advancement of soil science. By developing practices to implement sometimes theoretical ideas or what may appear to be impossible actions, we thank and fully acknowledge


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