4 Books found
Springer-Verlag GmbH Books
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Amazonian Dark Earths: Explorations in Space and Time
The regenerative qualities identified in prehistoric, anthropogenic Amazonian dark earths suggest that notoriously infertile tropical soils can be greatly improved. Soil enhancement practices by ancient Amerindians allowed them to intensively cultivate the land, without needing to continually clear new fields from forest. As increasing populations place ever greater pressure on tropical forests, this legacy of rich, "living" soils warrants ...
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Biological Resources and Migration
Migration is a global and ubiquitous phenomenon. A large percentage of our cultivated land in industrialized as well as in developing countries are covered with migrated or introduced plants. But also in natural habitats and communities, migration of animals, plants and microorganisms plays a key role in the functioning or threat to the present ecosystems. The special feature of this book is that all forms of migration - be it plant, microbial, ...
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Soil Engineering
The agricultural world has changed significantly during the last years. The excessive use of heavy machinery, waste disposal, the use of agrochemicals and new soil cultivation means led to severe problems, which agricultural engineers have to cope with in order to prevent soil from permanent irreversible damage. This Soil Biology volume will update readers on several cutting-edge aspects of sustainable soil engineering including topics such as: ...
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Managing Organic Matter in Tropical Soils: Scope and Limitations
Soil organic matter is a reservoir for plant nutrients, provides water-holding capacity, stabilizes soil structure against compaction and erosion, and thus determines soil productivity. All agriculture to some degree depends on soil organic matter. It has long been known that soil organic matter declines when land is taken into cultivation, and that the productivity of new agricultural land is governed by fertility contributions from decomposing ...