Properties and Management of Soils in the Tropics

The long-awaited second edition of this classic textbook expands on the first edition to include advances made in the last four decades, bringing the topic completely up to date. The book addresses critical issues such as whether humanity can feed itself, and whether it can do so in environmentally sound and sustainable ways. Written from agronomic, environmental, and ecological standpoints, the textbook employs a multidisciplinary approach, including policymaking and plant genetic improvements, as well as ecosystem services, climate change, biodiversity, sustainability and resilience. New chapters in this second edition focus on organic carbon in soil, soil biology, soils in relation to livestock production and forestry, and agroforestry. The new edition will again be the go-to textbook for courses on tropical soils, and a reference textbook for soil and agricultural scientists and development professionals working in the tropics.

Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgement; Part I. The Tropical Environment: 1. The natural environment of the tropics; 2. The human environment of the tropics; Part II. Pedology, Physics, Chemistry and Biology: 3. History of soil science in the tropics; 4. Soils of the tropics; 5. Functional capacity classification; 6. Soil physical properties; 7. Water; 8. Mineralogy; 9. Soil acidity; 10. Soil biology; 11. Organic carbon; Part III. Soil Fertility: 12. Soil fertility principles; 13. Nitrogen; 14. Phosphorus; 15. Sulfur; Part IV. Management Systems: 16. Soils and slash and burn agriculture; 17. Soil management in rice cultivation; 18. Soils and livestock-based tropical systems; 19. Soils and tropical tree-based systems; Index.

Pedro A. Sanchez´s name is almost synonymous with the topic of tropical soil science. His work has influenced research in agronomy, ecology, and changed the way technology and policy are used to increase food production in environmentally sustainable ways. He is Pre-eminent Research Professor of Tropical Soil Science at the University of Florida. Sanchez spent fifty years alternating between US universities and research centers of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). He is the first soil scientist to receive both the World Food Prize and a MacArthur Fellowship, and is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences.