Advances in Agronomy

Advances in Agronomy, Volume 171, the latest release in this leading reference, contains a variety of updates and new advances in the field, including updates on Elevated CO2 in Semi-arid Cropping Systems: A Synthesis of Research from the Australian Grains Free Air CO2 Enrichment (AGFACE) Research Program, Simultaneous Effects of Legume Cultivation on Carbon and Nitrogen Accumulation in Soil, Growing Small Grains Organically in the Semiarid West: A Review of Markets and Management Practices to Optimize Productivity and Sustainability, Principles and Applications of Topography in Precision Agriculture, Retention of Heavy Metals by Dredged Sediments and their Management Following Land Application, and more.

Other chapters focus on Genetic Diversity for Developing Climate-resilient Wheats to Achieve Food Security Goals and A Century of Subclover: Lessons for Sustainable Intensification from a Historical Review of Innovations in Subterranean Clover Seed Production.

• Includes numerous, timely, state-of-the-art reviews on the latest advancements in agronomy
• Features distinguished, well recognized authors from around the world
• Builds upon this venerable and iconic review series
• Covers the extensive variety and breadth of subject matter in the crop and soil sciences

1. Elevated CO2 in Semi-arid Cropping Systems: A Synthesis of Research from the Australian Grains Free Air CO2 Enrichment (AGFACE) Research Program Glenn J. Fitzgerald, Michael Tausz, Roger Armstrong, Joe Panozzo, Piotr Trebicki, Mahabubur Mollah, Sabine Tausz-Posch, Cassandra Walker, James G. Nuttall, Maryse Bourgault, Markus Low, Debra Partington, Clayton R. Butterly, Shu Kee Lam, Robert M. Norton and Garry J. O'Leary 2. Simultaneous Effects of Legume Cultivation on Carbon and Nitrogen Accumulation in Soil Ahmad Latif Virk, Bai-Jian Lin, Zheng-Rong Kan, Jian-Ying Qi, Yash Pal Dang, Rattan Lal, Xin Zhao and Hai-Lin Zhang 3. Growing Small Grains Organically in the Semiarid West: A Review of Markets and Management Practices to Optimize Productivity and Sustainability Nicole Tautges, Kristy Borrelli, Jessica Goldberger, Stephen Machado, E. P. Fuerst, Diana Roberts and Ian Burke 4. Principles and Applications of Topography in Precision Agriculture Ahmed Harb Rabia, Jasmine Neupane, Zhe Lin, Katie Lewis, Guofeng Cao and Wenxuan Guo 5. Retention of Heavy Metals by Dredged Sediments and their Management Following Land Application Richard J. Haynes and Ya-Feng Zhou 6. Genetic Diversity for Developing Climate-resilient Wheats to Achieve Food Security Goals Shabir H. Wani, Hanif Khan, Adnan Riaz, Dinesh Chandra Joshi, Waseem Hussain, Maneet Rana, Anuj Kumar, Naveenkumar Athiyannan, Dharmendra Singh, Niaz Ali, Manjit S. Kang, Mahjabeen Tariq, Rumana Kayeni, Fatima Khalid, Muhammad Jamil, Abdul Aziz Napar, Sanjaya Rajaram and A. Mujeeb-Kazi 7. A Century of Subclover: Lessons for Sustainable Intensification from a Historical Review of Innovations in Subterranean Clover Seed Production W. M. Moss, P. G. H. Nichols, K. J. Foster, M. H. Ryan, W. Erskine and A. L. Guzzomi

Donald L. Sparks is the S. Hallock du Pont Chair in Soil and Environmental Chemistry, Francis Alison Professor and Director of the Delaware Environmental Institute at the University of Delaware. He is internationally recognized for his landmark research on the kinetics and mechanisms of metal/oxyanion/nutrient reactions at biogeochemical interfaces. His pioneering studies on kinetic processes in soils and minerals include the development of widely used and novel kinetic methods, elucidation of rate-limiting steps and mechanisms over a range of spatial and temporal scales, and coupling of real-time kinetic studies with in-situ molecular scale investigations. His discoveries on the speciation, formation rates and stability mechanisms of metal hydroxide surface precipitates, and their role in the retention and bioavailability of toxic metals in the terrestrial environment, have received worldwide attention. This research has led to more effective soil remediation strategies and predictive models.

He is the author or coauthor of 286 publications. These include: 11 edited books, 53 book chapters, and 219 refereed papers. He is the author of two widely adopted textbooks, Kinetics of Soil Chemical Processes and Environmental Soil Chemistry (two editions) published by Academic Press. Dr. Sparks is an ISI Highly Cited Researcher; his research has been cited more than 8380 times and his h-index is 53 (Web of Science). Dr. Sparks has served as editor of Advances in Agronomy since 1991, having edited 77 volumes. He has given over 200 invited presentations at scientific conferences throughout the world, and been a lecturer at 98 universities and institutes in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

He has received numerous honors and awards including Fellow of five scientific societies, national and international research awards, distinguished fellowships and lectureships, and teaching and mentoring awards. He has advised 90 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers and been the recipient of more than $50 million in research funding. He served as President of both the Soil Science Society of America and the International Union of Soil Sciences.