Soil Health on the Farm, Ranch, and in the Garden

Book excerpt: This book explores the importance of soil health in croplands, rangelands, pasturelands, and gardens, and presents new methods and technologies for assessing soil dynamics and health in these different land types. Through perspectives of agriculture, soil management, and ecological sustainability, the book provides accurate and up-to-date information on soil health assessment and maintenance that is often missing from current literature on conservation and environmental management and preservation. The book is written in a clear and concise format, and will appeal to non-scientists interested in soil health, as well as professional farmers, ranchers and gardeners. The book begins by discussing soil health from a historical perspective, and in terms of how it is covered in the news currently. Then the author addresses the ecological implications of soil health in farming, ranching and gardening, and comprehensively details the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil as they apply in various land types. The book then examines soil health assessment using new diagnostic and analytic technologies, and how these new innovations will be necessary going forward to maintain and improve soil health.