Integrated soil management – moving towards globally sustainable agriculture

Abstract

SUMMARYThis review introduces the main concepts behind integrated soil management (ISM) and examines the ways in which it currently operates. It suggests the scope for future technological development. The review also highlights the potential of ISM to address the challenge of meeting the demands of the increasing world population, while maintaining sustainable agro-ecosystems, as judged from long-term soil fertility, environmental and socio-economic perspectives. Changes to policy, governance and funding worldwide will be needed to conserve and manage the soil resource, and to restore already degraded systems. Research should be prioritized to ensure continued delivery of new soil technologies. Such changes must engage all land-use stakeholders, must involve educational, training and extension programmes and must embrace the multidisciplinarity required for effective soil conservation and management.

Impacts of projected climate change on productivity and nitrogen leaching of crop rotations in arable and pig farming systems in Denmark

“…Proposed strategies are to increase the proportion of spring cereals in the rotation with undersowing of catch crops in spring for a faster autumn development, the use of deep-rooted species or intercropping and proper timing and ploughing of catch crops, which have been discussed in the literature as effective measures for reducing N losses (Thorup-Kristensen 1994; Olesen et al 2004; Thorup-Kristensen & Dresbøll 2010; Askegaard et al 2011). The choice of the most convenient strategy would be site- and rotation-specific, and should be combined with an efficient schedule and application of water and fertilizers and manure handling according to the rotation requirements and farmers available technology and following the concepts of integrated soil management for sustainable agricultural production (Killham 2011).…”

Sustainable intensification in African agriculture

“…Soils contain twice as much carbon as the atmosphere. Historically, losses through cultivation and disturbance have been established to be 40 -80 Pg (Petagrams) C (Smith, 2008;Kilham, 2010), and losses continue at a rate of 1.6 + 0.8 Pg C per year, mainly in the tropics.…”

Change of extreme rainfall indexes at Ebro River Basin

“…These changes could have consequences regarding rainfall regime (Groisman et al, 2001), erosion (González-Hidalgo et al, 2007), sediment transport and water quality (O'Neal et al, 2005), soil management (Killham, 2010), and new designs in diversion ditches (Bryan et al, 2011). Climate change is expected to result in increasingly extreme and variable rainfall, in amount and timing, changing seasonal patterns and increasing the frequency of extreme weather events .…”