Table of Contents

Sustainable Management of Soil Resources and Food Security. Global Food Situation and Unresolved and Emerging Issues. World Soil Resources: Opportunities and Challenges. Soil Resources and Human Adaptation in Forest and Agricultural Ecosystems in Humid Asia. Pedogenetic Acidification in Upland Soils under Different Bioclimatic Conditions in Humid Asia. Soil Resources Affecting Food Security and Safety in South Asia. Formation and Management of Cracking Clay Soils (Vertisols) to Enhance Crop Productivity: Indian Experience. Role of Nuclear and Isotopic Techniques in Sustainable Land Management: Achieving Food Security and Mitigating Impacts of Climate Change. New Paradigm to Unlock the Potential of Rainfed Agriculture in the Semiarid Tropics. Land Degradation. Where Do We Stand 20 Years after the Assessment of Soil Nutrient Balances in Sub-Saharan Africa? Research Needs for Credible Data on Soil Resources and Degradation.

About the Author

Rattan Lal is a Distinguished University Professor of soil physics in the School of Environment and Natural Resources and director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences/Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center, at The Ohio State University. Before joining Ohio State in 1987, he was a soil physicist for 18 years at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria. Professor Lal's research interests include erosion-induced changes in soil quality, soils and climate change, soil compaction, conservation tillage, mine soil reclamation, water table management, and sustainable use of soil and water resources of the tropics for enhancing food security. Professor Lal is a fellow of the Soil Science Society of America, American Society of Agronomy, Third World Academy of Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, Soil and Waste Conservation Society, and Indian Academy of Agricultural Sciences. He is a member of the United States National Committee on Soil Science of the National Academy of Sciences and a recipient of several awards, including the International Soil Science Award of the Soil Science Society of America and the Liebig award of IUSS. He is a recipient of honorary degrees from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India; Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway; and Alecu Russo University, Moldova. B.A. Stewart is a distinguished professor of soil science at the West Texas A&M University, Canyon, Texas, and the director of the Dryland Agriculture Institute. He is a fellow of the Soil Science Society of America, the American Society of Agronomy, and the Soil and Water Conservation Society. He is a recipient of the Unites States Department of Agriculture Superior Service Award, a recipient of the Hugh Hammond Bennett Award of the Soil and Water Conservation Society, and was made an honorary member of the International Union of Soil Sciences in 2008. Dr. Stewart is very supportive of education and research on dryland agriculture. The B.A. and Jane Anne Stewart Dryland Agriculture Scholarship Fund was established in West Texas A&M University in 1994 to provide scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students with a demonstrated interest in dryland agriculture.