Soil Health

408 Pages·2020·8.05 MB·English

by  Bhoopander Giri, Ajit Varma

Soil Biology
Bhoopander Giri
Ajit Varma  Editors
Soil Health
Soil Biology
Volume 59
Series Editor
Ajit Varma, Amity Institute of Microbial Technology,
Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
TheSpringerseriesSoilBiologypublishestopicalvolumesinthefieldsofmicrobi-
ology,environmentalsciences,plantsciences,biotechnology,biochemistry,micro-
bialecology,mycologyandagriculturalsciences.
Specialemphasisisplacedonmethodologicalchaptersorvolumes.Thisincludes
coverage of new molecular techniques relevant to soil biology research or to
monitoringandassessingsoilqualityaswellasadvancedbiotechnologicalapplica-
tions.Leadinginternationalauthorities withabackgroundinacademia,industryor
governmentwillcontributetotheseriesasauthorsoreditors.
KeyTopics:microbial-plantinteractions;microbialcommunities;rootsymbiosis,
mycorrhiza; rhizosphere environment; soil fauna, e.g. termites etc.; biochemical
processes,soilproteins,enzymes,nucleicacids;degradationofbiomaterials,decom-
position, nutrient cycles; soil genesis, mineralization; bioremediation of contami-
natedsites;biotechnologicalapplicationsofsoilmicroorganisms.
Moreinformationaboutthisseriesathttp://www.springer.com/series/5138
(cid:129)
Bhoopander Giri Ajit Varma
Editors
Soil Health
Editors
BhoopanderGiri AjitVarma
DepartmentofBotany, AmityInstituteofMicrobialTechnology
SwamiShraddhanandCollege AmityUniversity
UniversityofDelhi Noida,UttarPradesh,India
Delhi,India
ISSN1613-3382 ISSN2196-4831 (electronic)
SoilBiology
ISBN978-3-030-44363-4 ISBN978-3-030-44364-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44364-1
©SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2020
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Foreword
Theprinciplesoffunctionalityandsustainabilityoftheecosystemareincorporated
intothedefinitionofsoilhealth,alsoknownassoilquality.Thedisturbances,natural
oranthropic, affect thefunctions ofthesoil and,therefore, theirhealth. Theevalu-
ationofthisisnoteasy,sinceitisdynamicandcanchangeinashortperiodoftime.
These changes depend on thespecific characteristics of thesoil, theenvironmental
conditions,theuse,andthemanagementpractices.
Inrecent decades,toachievehighagriculturalproduction,intensiveagricultural
practiceshavebeendevelopedandapplied;thesepractices,typesofirrigation,and,
especially,chemicalfertilizersandpesticideshavehadverynegativeenvironmental
consequences. In the same way, large disturbances of natural or anthropic origin
haveprogressivelydiminishedtheworld’sforestarea,degradinglargeareasofsoil.
This volume addresses the current state of knowledge about soil health; the
propertiesofthesoil,especiallythebiologicalcomponent,arerelatedtoitssanitary
state. In some chapters, some parameters of these components are analyzed as
indicators of soil health; in other chapters, the potential use or application of the
biological component to restore or improve soil conditions and the production of
sustainable crops is addressed. In addition, the agricultural practices called “green
manures” and some novelties in biological components or fertilizer materials are
discussedaspossiblestrategiestorestoreorimprovesoilhealthandproductivityina
sustainableway.Inshort,thisbookaddressesagri-environmentalsustainabilityfrom
thepointofviewofsoils.Wearesurethatthisbookwillhelpusfacesuchimportant
challengesforthefutureasglobalfoodsecurityandclimatechange.
v
vi Foreword
Ithanktheeditorsforthisinvitation,andIamsurethatthisbookSoilHealthwill
be a great resource for knowledge about the thematic area of soil health and a
referenceforacademics,researchers,andstudents.
IconveymybestwishestoSpringerNatureandtheeditorsandcollaboratorswho
areexpertsinthefieldofthisremarkablebook.
ETSIMontes,ForestalydelMedio JoséAlfonsoDomínguez-Núñez
Natural,UniversidadPolitecnicade
Madrid,Madrid,Spain
Preface
Soil health can be defined as the capacity of a soil to function within ecosystem
frontiers,to sustain biological productivity,tomaintain environmental quality,and
topromoteplant,animal,andhuman health.Soil fertility isafeatureofsoilhealth
showing thecapacityofasoil toprovidenutrientsfor plant’sgrowth anddevelop-
ment. Soil health is established through the interactions of physical, chemical, and
biologicalpropertiesincludingsoiltexture,measurementofpercentofthesand,silt,
and clay, arrangement of individual soil particles like sand, silt, and clay into
aggregates (soil structure), nutrient-carrying capacity and pH, the group of soil
organisms like bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes, etc. A healthy soil provides
adequate levels of macro-and micronutrients toplants and holds adequate popula-
tionofsoilmicroorganisms.Soilrepresentinggoodtilthorstructureoftenfoundto
resist soil erosion and compaction and thereby degradation provides adequate
aeration and water to plants, promotes good root growth, and maintains worthy
biotichabitatanddiversepopulationsofbeneficialorganismsandlowpopulationsof
pests and pathogens. Indeed, soil health plays a central role in the economic and
socialdevelopmentofacountry.Theproductionoffood,fodder,renewableenergy,
andseveralotheressentialcommoditiesvitalforsustaininghuman,animal,andplant
lifedependsonsoilhealth.Inthepastfewdecades,humanpopulationhasincreased
rapidly, stimulating a tremendous increase in the intensification of agriculture to
meet the ever-increasing demand for food. Soils are now showing symptoms of
exhaustion and stagnating or declining crop yields. Inadequate and imbalanced
nutrient management and desertion of organic manures is gradually triggering
nutrient deficiencies in crop fields. Overextracting of mineral nutrients, neglect of
organic fertilizers, insignificant nutrient replenishment, excessive use of chemical
fertilizers and pesticides, and irrigation with poor quality water/saline water are
foundtobethemajorcausesoffesteringcropproductivity.Sincetheprospectsfor
further increase in the area under cultivation are diminishing, much of the desired
increase in food grain production needs to be achieved by enhancing crop produc-
tivityperunitareathroughholisticandsustainableapproaches.
vii
viii Preface
ThevolumeSoilHealthcomprises19provocativechapterswrittenbytheexperts
of thisfield, covers latestresearch,andprovidesup-to-date knowledge of different
aspectsofsoilhealth,factorsinfluencingsoilhealth,consequencesofdegradationof
soil health on sustainable agriculture, and solutions to improve and maintain soil
healthsoastoachievethegoalofhigherproductivityandsustainabilitywithoutany
damagetothesoilsystemandtheenvironment.Webelievethatwiththeopulenceof
information on different aspects of soil health and its sustainability, this extensive
volume is a valuable resource for researchers, academicians, and students in the
broadfieldofbotany,ecology,microbiology,andagriculture.
We are highly delighted and thankful to all our contributing authors for their
endlesssupportandoutstandingcooperationtowritealtruisticallytheseauthoritative
and valuable chapters. We extend our sincere thanks to all our colleagues who
helped us in the preparation and compilation of this generous volume. We also
thankSpringerofficials,especiallyWilliamFCurtis,EricSchmitt,SabineSchwarz,
PaulRoos,NathalieBerg,andAnandVentakachalamfortheirgeneroussupportand
efforts to accomplish this wide volume. We especially thank our families for
consistentsupportandencouragement.
Delhi,India BhoopanderGiri
Noida,UttarPradesh,India AjitVarma
Contents
1 SoilHealthinIndia:PastHistoryandFuturePerspective. . . . . . . . 1
PriyankaSrivastava,ManjuBalhara,andBhoopanderGiri
2 BiocharforMaintainingSoilHealth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
NguyenHue
3 PlantGrowth-PromotingRhizobacteria:ABooster
forAmelioratingSoilHealthandAgricultureProduction. . . . . . . . 47
PratibhaRawat,DeeptiShankhdhar,andS.C.Shankhdhar
4 VermicompostandSoilHealth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
RanjitChatterjee,AnkitaDebnath,andSubhalaxmiMishra
5 ImpactofAgriculturalPracticesonSoilHealth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
ElizabethTemitopeAlori,ArunaOlasekanAdekiya,
andKehindeAbodundeAdegbite
6 ContributionofBiocharinImprovingSoilHealth. . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
A.O.Adekiya,T.M.A.Olayanju,S.W.Ejue,E.T.Alori,
andK.A.Adegbite
7 SoilHealthandFoliarFertilisers. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 115
ApostolosPapadopoulos
8 WildPlantsfromCoastalHabitatsasaPotentialResource
forSoilRemediation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
GedertsIevinsh,UnaAndersone-Ozola,ZaigaLandorfa-Svalbe,
AndisKarlsons,andAnitaOsvalde
9 AbioticandBioticFactorsInfluencingSoilHealth
and/orSoilDegradation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
K.S.AnilKumarandK.S.Karthika
ix