Waubonsee Community College

The soil underfoot, infinite possibilities for a finite resource, edited by G. Jock Churchman, Edward R. Landa

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

platesillustrations

index present

non fiction

The soil underfoot

bibliography

798062143

edited by G. Jock Churchman, Edward R. Landa

infinite possibilities for a finite resource

"The largest part of the world’s food comes from its soils, either directly from plants, or via animals fed on pastures and crops. Thus, it is necessary to maintain, and if possible, improve the quality—and hence good health—of soils, while enabling them to support the growing world population. The Soil Underfoot: Infinite Possibilities for a Finite Resource arms readers with historical wisdom from various populations around the globe, along with current ideas and approaches for the wise management of soils. It covers the value of soils and their myriad uses viewed within human and societal contexts in the past, present, and supposed futures. In addition to addressing the technical means of maintaining soils, this book presents a culturally and geographically diverse collection of historical attitudes to soils, including philosophical and ethical frameworks, which have either sustained them or led to their degradation. Section I describes major challenges associated with climate change, feeding the increasing world population, chemical pollution and soil degradation, and technology. Section II discusses various ways in which soils are, or have been, valued—including in film and contemporary art as well as in religious and spiritual philosophies, such as Abrahamic religions, Maori traditions, and in Confucianism. Section III provides stories about soil in ancient and historic cultures including the Roman Empire, Greece, India, Japan, Korea, South America, New Zealand, the United States, and France. Section IV describes soil modification technologies, such as polymer membrane barriers, and soil uses outside commercial agriculture including the importance of soils for recreation and sports grounds. The final section addresses future strategies for more effective sustainable use of soils, emphasizing the biological nature of soils and enhancing the use of "green water" retained from rainfall"--from the publisher

Sec. 1. Future challenges. Climate change : An underfoot perspective? / Kevin R. Tate and Benny K.G. Theng ; Soils and the future of food : Challenges and opportunities for feeding nine billion people / Sharon J. Hall ; Soil loss / Nikolaus J. Kuhn ; The finite soil resource for sustainable development : The case of Taiwan / Zeng-Yei Hseu and Zueng-Sang Chen ; The far future of soil / Peter K. Hagg -- Sec. 2. Valuing soils. Seeing soil / Deborah Koons Garcia ; Picturing soil : Aesthetic approaches to raising soil awareness in contemporary art / Alexandra R. Toland and Gerd Wessolek ; Principles for sustaining sacred soil / Norman Habel ; Indigenous Maori values, perspectives, and knowledge of soils in Aotearoa-New Zealand : Beliefs and concepts of soils, the environment, and land / Garth Harmsworth and Nick Roskruge ; Integrative development between soil science and Confucius' philosophy / Xinhua Peng ; Soil : Natural capital supplying valuable ecosystem services / Brent Clothier and Mary Beth Kirkham -- Sec. 3. Culture and history. Bread and soil in ancient Rome : A vision of abundance and an ideal of order based on wheat, grapes, and olives / Bruce R. James, Winfried E.H. Blum, and Carmelo Dazzi ; The Anatolian soil concept of the past and today / Erhan Akça and Selim Kapur ; Deconstructing the Leipsokouki : A million years (or so) of soils and sediments in rural Greece / Richard B. Doyle and Mary E. Savina ; Knowledge of soil and land in ancient Indian society / Pichu Rengasamy ; The evolution of paddy rice and upland cropping in Japan with reference to soil fertility and taxation / Masanori Okazaki and Koyo Yonebayashi ; Soils in farming -- centric lessons for life and culture in Korea / Rog-Young Kim, Su-Jung Kim, E. Jin Kim, and Jae E. Yang ; Terra preta : The mysterious soils of the Amazon / Antoinette M.G.A. WinklerPrins ; Modern landscape management using Andean technology developed by the Inca empire / Francisco Mamani-Pati, David E. Clay, and Hugh Smeltekop ; Indigenous Maori values, perspectives, and knowledge of soils in Aotearoa-New Zealand : Maori use and knowledge of soils over time / Garth Harmsworth and Nick Roskruge ; Potash, passion, and a president : Early twentieth-century debates on soil fertility in the United States / Edward R. Landa ; Soil and salts in Bernard Palissy's (1510-1590) view : Was he the pioneer of the mineral theory of plant nutrition? / Christian Feller and Jean-Paul Aeschlimann -- Sec. 4. Technologies and uses. Poetry in motions : The soil-excreta cycle / Rebecca Lines-Kelly ; Global potential for a new subsurface water retention technology : Converting marginal soil into sustainable plant production / Alvin J.M. Smucker and Bruno Basso ; Double loop learning in a garden / Richard Stirzaker ; Valuing the soil : Connecting land, people, and nature in Scotland / John E. Gordon, Patricia M.C. Bruneau, and Vanessa Brazier ; Sports surface design : The purposeful manipulation of soils / Richard Gibbs -- Sec. 5. Future strategies. Soil biophysics : The challenges / Iain M. Young and John W. Crawford ; Life in earth : A truly epic production / Karl Ritz ; Sustaining "The genius of soils" / Garrison Sposito