Caring Soils Beyond Food Security Volume I: Soil Health and Nutrient Cycling

This book sheds light on the critical role of soils in ensuring climate resilience and providing essential ecosystem services. By examining the latest scientific research, sharing innovative management practices, and exploring policy frameworks, the chapters of this book discuss how caring for soils can lead to global benefits. The chapters cover topics such as sustainable agricultural intensification, soil health improvement, nutrient cycling, novel fertilizer development, rapid soil assessment techniques, and land degradation mitigation. Renowned scholars and practitioners provide a comprehensive analysis of soil security and its implications for food, fiber, and water quality. 

This book is beneficial for researchers, professors, and policymakers, for understanding the multifaceted benefits of soil care. It offers a comprehensive set of recommendations for global sustainable soil management, making it a resource for anyone involved in environmental sciences, natural resource management or agricultural policy-making.

Sections 1. Soil Health and Nutrient Cycling.- Section 2. Sustainable Soil Management.- Section 3. Waste Management, Soil Pollution and Remediation.

Dr. Suresh Kumar Chaudhari is the Deputy Director General (NRM) at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, New Delhi. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Jawahar Lal Nehru Agricultural University, Jabalpur, and his Doctoral degree from Mahatma Phule Agricultural University, Rahuri. He completed Post-Doctoral Fellowships at the University of California, Davis, USA, and the University of Rostock, Germany. Dr. Chaudhari has developed significant irrigation and soil management technologies for various agro-ecosystems in India.

Dr. Dipak Ranjan Biswas is a Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Indian Society of Soil Science (ISSS), and the West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology. Formerly a Principal Scientist at the Division of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, he completed his undergraduate studies at Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswa Vidyalaya and his postgraduate and Ph.D. at ICAR-IARI, New Delhi. He has published 135 research articles. Dr. Biswas is renowned for his work in soil fertility, fertilizer use, and the development of polymer/biopolymer-coated fertilizers

Dr. Ranjan Bhattacharyya is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India, the Royal Geographical Society, UK, and the Royal Society of Biology, UK. Currently a principal scientist at the Division of Environmental Sciences, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, he earned his bachelor’s degree from Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswa Vidyalaya and his master’s from ICAR-IARI. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wolverhampton, UK. Dr. Bhattacharyya is recognized for his research on soil carbon sequestration, soil conservation, and nutrient management, particularly in the Indian Himalayas and Indo-Gangetic Plains. He has published 187 research papers and received prestigious awards.

Dr. Himanshu Pathak is the Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Govt. of India, and the Director General of ICAR, New Delhi. With over three decades of experience in agricultural research, education, and extension, Dr. Pathak is a leading figure in soil science, climate change, and abiotic stress management. He previously served as Director of ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Odisha, and ICAR-National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Maharashtra. Dr. Pathak has published over 250 research papers with an h-index of 81 and more than 25,500 citations.