© copyright 2002 IUSS
|
NEW PUBLICATIONS Waste
Composting for Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture: Closing the
Rural-Urban Nutrient Cycle in Sub-Saharan Africa.
P. Drechsel and D. Kunze, editors. International Water Management
Institute, Colombo; FAO, Rome; and CABI Publishing, Wallingford
and New York, 2001, xviii + 229 p. ISBN 92-5-104591-7 (FAO); and
0-85199-548-9 (CABI). Hardcover. Rapid
urbanization has created a major challenge with regard to waste
management and environmental protection. However, turning organic
waste into compost for use as an agricultural fertilizer in
peri-urban areas can ameliorate the problem. This is especially
significant in less developed countries, where food security is
also a key issue. This book is based on papers presented at a
workshop held in Accra, Ghana, from 2 to 6 August 1999 to address
these issues. Special reference is given to Sub-Saharan Africa,
with acknowledgement to experiences in other parts of the world. After
an introductory chapter, the following themes are addressed: (1)
The potential use of waste-stream products for soil amelioration
in peril-urban interface agricultural production systems (1
paper); (2) Economic, sociocultural and environmental
considerations ((3 papers); (3) Turning urban waste into
fertilizers: case studies from East and West Africa (9 papers);
(4) Modelling biomass and nutrient flows (5 papers); (5) Urban
agriculture: international support and capacity building in Africa
(1 paper). The book closes with a chapter about research and
development priorities. Price:
GBP 45.00; USD 80.00. Orders
to: see below. Securing
the Harvest. Biotechnology, Breeding and Seed Systems for African
Crops. J. DeVries and G. Toenniessen. CABI Publishing, Wallingford and New
York, 2001, xvi + 208 p. ISBN 0-85199-564-0. Softcover. As
the one remaining major world region where agriculture has yet to
be transformed from subsistence, low-yield systems dependent on
shifting cultivation to efficient modern systems capable of
producing regular surpluses, the question of crop improvement is
especially important to Africa. This continent is also the sole
world region where many indices of food security have shown a
serious decline in recent years. In the context of high population
growth and an increased emphasis on keeping Africa’s unique
natural environment intact, it is clear that crop yields must be
substantially and sustainably increased. More efficient,
better-performing crop varieties can play a significant role in
achieving this goal. Improved food security, led by increased
productivity among many small-scale farmers, has been the aim of
significant national and international efforts in recent decades.
It has proved to be one of the most critical challenges facing
humankind. This
book grew out of a two-year exploration conducted by the food
security theme of the Rockefeller Foundation, focusing on the
potential for crop genetic improvement to contribute to food
security among rural populations in Africa. It provides a critical
assessment of the ways in which recent breakthroughs in
biotechnology, participatory plant breeding and seed systems can
be broadly employed in developing and delivering more productive
crop varieties in Africa’s diverse agricultural environments. It
also presents an analysis of current plant breeding and
biotechnology strategies for seven key crops in Africa: maize,
sorghum, millet, cowpea, rice, cassava and banana. Price:
GBP 27.50. Orders
to: see below. Nitrate
and Man: Toxic, Harmless or Beneficial?
J. l’Hirondel and J.L. l’Hirondel. CABI
Publishing, Wallingford and New York, 2001, 184 p. ISBN
0-85199-566-7. Hardcover. Nitrate
is ubiquitous. It is present in Water, soil, plants and food, and
it is also a normal human metabolite. The main external sources of
nitrate are vegetables and drinking water. This book examines the
relationship between nitrates and human health. Nitrate has been
feared as the source of some serious diseases. This book sets out
research results to disprove these assumptions, and goes on to
explore the beneficial effects of nitrate in preventing infections,
cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Price:
GBP 35.00; USD 65.00 Orders
to: see below. The
Sustainable Management of Vertisols.
IBSRAM Proceedings No. 20. J.K.
Syers, F.W.T. Penning de Vries and P. Nyamudeza, editors. CABI
Publishing, Wallingford and New York, in association with the
International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Bangkok, 2001,
xiv + 304 p. ISBN 0-85199-450-4. Hardcover. Black
cracking clay soils, classified as Vertisols, are an important an
important resource in the subtropics and tropics. In Africa,
Vertisols occupy an area of over 100 million ha, or 6% of the
arable land area. These soils also feature significantly in
Australia, India and the USA. The physical properties make them
difficult to cultivate and present inherent problems of low
infiltration rates, waterlogging and erodibility. In combination
with widespread chemical fertility decline, the physical problems
represent a major constraint to their sustainable management.
Nevertheless, research shows that careful management of the soil
surface can control and improve the soil regime, significantly
boosting crop yields. Despite a number of success stories, the
benefits of new technologies are bypassing many millions of
farmers cultivating Vertisols. In May 1999, the International
Board for Soil Research and Management (IBSRAM, which merged with
IWMI in April 2001) organized a forum for Vertisol researchers
from all over the world to review their progress, and develop
plans for collaborative research to fill any gaps identified. A
key element in the choice of the papers was the need for social
and economic aspects of research to be considered alongside the
biological and physical aspects. A series of working groups
identified research needs, and the output is included in the book.
All papers have undergone a process of peer review, editing,
updating and revision. The book provides up-to-date information on
Vertisols research and guide readers to important reference
material. After
four keynote and overview papers, the publication contains eight
country papers. In five papers attention is given to international
perspectives on the management of Vertisols. Price:
GBP 55.00; USD 100.00. Orders
to: see below. Nitrogen
Fixation in Tropical Cropping Systems.
Second edition. K. Giller. CABI Publishing, Wallingford and New
York, 2001, 448 p. ISBN 0-85199-417-2. Hardcover. This
second edition of the highly successful book, first published in
1991, contains thoroughly updated and revised material on the
theory and practice of nitrogen fixation in tropical cropping
systems. Nitrogen fixation is especially important when farmers
are trying to minimize fertilizer use for cost or environmental
reasons. The significant research advances in the last decade on
both the fundamental and applied level are covered, including
those relating to the classification and description of N2-fixing
bacteria and symbioses and the processes of N2-fixation. Price:
GBP 60.00; USD 110.00. Planning
Agricultural Research:
A Sourcebook. G. Gijsbers, H. Hambly Odame,
W. Janssen, and G.
Meijerink, editors. CABI Publishing, Wallingford and
New York, 2001, 363 p. ISBN 0-85199-401-6. Agricultural
research is an investment in future production, productivity, and
food security. But it is an uncertain business, because the
investments required are large and the benefits are unknown and
far away. Planning in agricultural research aims to guide the
investments towards the most relevant outputs, in the most
cost-effective manner. New approaches to planning are emerging
that emphasize the
use of plans to identify strategic issues and to help
organizations adjust to rapidly changing conditions in the
external environment. These ideas are important for agricultural
research organizations, which must balance the need to adjust to
changing circumstances with the long-term nature of agricultural
research. The book provides a variety of perspectives on
agricultural research planning, grouped into four sections dealing
with the context of planning, planning content, planning processes,
and planning tools. A glossary provides an overview of concepts
and definitions. Price:
GBP 29.50; USD 55.00. Some
sections are available free of charge in html and pdf formats. See
at internet: www.isnar.cgiar.org/publications/planningbook.htm. Orders
to: CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon OX10
8DE, UK. Fax: +44-1491-829292. E-mail: orders@cabi.org.
Or: CABI Publishing, CAB International, 10 East 40th
Street, Suite 3203, New York, NY 10016, USA. Fax: +1-212-686-7993.
E-mail: cabi-nao@cabi.org.
Homepage: www.cabi.org/bookshop. Note:
10% discount is granted to IUSS members, when ordering online at orders@cabi.org,
mentioning reference code AVT. This applies to all CABI books
mentioned above. Tropical
Ecosystems and Ecological Concepts.
P.L. Osborne. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York,
2000, xiv + 464 p. ISBN 0-521-64251-5, hardcover; 0-521-64523-9,
Softcover. Over
one third of the earth’s terrestrial surface is situated in the
tropics, with environments ranging from hot deserts to tropical
rain forests. This introductory textbook, aimed at students in
tropical ecology, is a guide to the major aquatic and terrestrial
biomes in the tropics. Chapters describe the ecology of deserts,
grasslands, savannas, tropical rain forests, lakes, rivers and
floodplains, maintains, wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs and
tropical islands, with descriptive case studies providing a
framework around which ecological concepts are presented.
Information is also given on the human ecological dimension, with
coverage of issues such as population growth, urbanization,
agriculture and fisheries, natural resource use and pollution,
conservation of biodiversity, climate change, and the concept of
ecological sustainability. The text is supported by boxes
containing supplementary material on a range of topics and
organisms, plus mathematical concepts and calculations, and is
enlivened with diagrams, maps and photographs. A cross-referenced
glossary, references and an index are included also. Price:
GBP 70.00, USD 110.00, hardcover; GBP 24.95, USD 40.00, softcover. Orders
to: Cambridge University Press, The Edinburgh Building,
Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK. Fax: +44-1223-315052.
E-mail: information@cup.cam.ac.uk.
Homepage: www.cup.ac.uk.
In North and Central America: Cambridge University Press, 40 West
20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA. Fax:
+1-212-6913-239. E-mail: information@cup.org.
Homepage: www.cup.org.
Food
Security in Sub-Saharan Africa.
S. Devereux and S. Maxwell, editors. ITDG Publishing, London,
2001, xviii + 350 p. ISBN 1-85339-523-4. Softcover. Sub-Saharan
Africa is the only region in the world currently facing both
widespread chronic food insecurity and threats of famine. Why is
this so and what can be done? In seeking to answer these questions,
the authors have brought together eleven different perspectives on
critical food security issues, from the causes of food insecurity
to planning and policy interventions. The have drawn on a variety
of disciplines, from agricultural economics to nutrition. An
evolution of thinking would appear to have taken place over the
last ten years. Food insecurity is no longer seen simply as a
failure of agriculture to produce sufficient food at the national
level, but instead as a failure of livelihoods to guarantee access
to sufficient food to people at the household level. This
conceptual shift and related arguments are presented for the
non-specialist reader as well as the development specialist. The
contributors illustrate their arguments with empirical data and
case studies from across the sub-continent.
Price:
GBP 15.95. Orders
to: ITDG Publishing, 103-105 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4HL, UK.
Fax: +44-20-7436-2013. E-mail: orders@itpubs.org.uk.
Homepage: www.developmentbookshop.com. Organic
Recycling & Biofertilisation in South Asia.
H.L.S. Tandon, editor. Fertiliser Development and Consultation
Organisation (FDCO), New Delhi, 2001, vi + 167 p. ISBN
81-85116-46-6. Hardcover. This
book is published in the FDCO’s series of reference and
practical publications on various aspects of mineral, organic and
biofertilisers; nutrition of food grains, other field crops and
plantation crops through major and micronutrients from diverse
sources; analytical methods, non-traditional sectors of fertiliser
use and volumes on individual nutrients. The present volume has
been prepared largely to put in one place some of the current
information on biofertilisers and organic recycling in South Asia,
covering Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Most of the 550 abstracts appearing in this publication have been
taken from the FAO-RAPA series “Organic Recycling in Asia and
the Pacific”, volumes 1 to 13. The dominant share of information
is from India. It has a subject and an author index. Price:
Rs. 350 in India, elsewhere USD 60.00, including airmail charges. Orders
to: FDCO, 204-204A Bhanot Corner, 1-2 Pamposh Enclave, New Delhi
110 048, India. Fax: +91-11-6417801. E-mail: fdco@vsnl.net.
Homepage: www.tandontech.8k.com Land
Use and Cover Change.
R.B. Singh, J. Fox and Y. Himiyama, editors. Science Publishers,
Enfield and Plymouth, 2001, xi + 299 p. ISBN 1-57808-147-5.
Hardcover. Land-use
and land-cover change is a focal theme and emerging issue in the
study of global environmental change. Human modifications and
alterations of the environment cause impacts on the surface of the
earth, threaten global sustainability and livelihood systems, and
contribute to changes in the biogeochemical cycles on the earth,
which in turn affect atmospheric levels of greenhouse and other
trace gases. Scientists working in this area of research have
recently drawn attention to the need to integrate research on
monitoring land-use and land-cover change from space with research
on the socio-economic causes of these changes. Remote sensing
observations alone cannot explain the socio-economic and
institutional factors that cause land-use and land-cover change,
nor can they identify the factors that influence regional trends
or local dynamics. These issues can only be addresses by using
population and other social science data in a comparative
framework. Geographic information systems are used to merge social
science variables spatially and temporally with physical science
data. This analysis must then be supplemented by field research in
order to understand the individual-level decision processes that
produce the land-use and land-cover change. At
a meeting held in Honolulu in July 1999, the papers presented
focused on land-use and land-cover change in relation to
information bases, historical assessment, modeling, and
predication, remote sensing and GIS application, and environmental
impact assessment. This book is a compilation of 24 papers
presented and discussed, and have been edited and updated. A few
invited papers have also been included in order to bridge the gaps
in research knowledge. Price:
USD 88.00; GBP 61.00. Orders
to: Science Publishers, P.O. Box 699, Enfield, NH 03748, USA.
E-mail: sales@scipub.net.
Homepage: www.scipub.net.
Or: Plymbridge Distributors, Estover, Plymouth, PL6 7PY, UK.
Orders: +44-1752-202331. E-mail: cservs@plymbridge.com.
Knowing
Where You’re Going. Information Systems for Agricultural
Research Management.
R. Vernon. International Service for National Agricultural
Research (ISNAR), The Hague, 2001, xxxi + 345 p. ISBN
92-9118-054-8. Softcover. Agricultural
researchers, especially in developing countries, are facing
serious problems in accessing information. Scientific journals are
becoming less and less affordable to most institutions. Research
is often inefficient: scientists pursue lines of research unaware
that the topic has already been covered in the past, because they
have no access to records of former research, even in their own
country. Research managers supervise programs and make decisions
with insufficient information from within their own research
programs, and little or no information on external factors that
should have a crucial bearing on research priorities. But
there is also good news! Never before has there been such rapid
development of information and communication technologies.
Capacities and speeds are increasing, while prices are falling.
The Internet has opened a vast range of information to millions of
users. CD-ROMs provide enormous capacity for cheap storage and
distribution of information, even to those without Internet access.
Most of the benefit of the information management revolution,
however, accrues to the developed countries, and the North-South
gap in information access is increasing. It is the target of this
book to help reverse that trend. The objective of this book is to
provide agricultural research managers at all levels, and
information specialists within agricultural research organizations,
with a source of ideas, concepts, methodologies, explanations, and
guidance in information management within their respective roles.
Part 1, covering about one-third of the text, is aimed
particularly at research managers and part 2 at information
managers. The complete text is also available free of charge from
the internet. See: www.isnar.cgiar.org/publications/mis_book.htm. Orders
to: ISNAR, P.O. Box 93375, 2509 AJ The Hague, The Netherlands.
Fax: +31-70-3819677. E-mail: isnar@cgiar.org.
Homepage: www.cgiar.org/isnar Soil
and Environmental Science Dictionary.
Edited by E.G. Gregorich, L.W. Turchenek, M.R. Carter and D.A.
Angers for the Canadian Society of Soil Science. CRC Press LLC,
Boca Raton, London, 2002, xvii + 577 p. ISBN 0-8493-3115-3.
Hardcover. The
terminology of soil science is a language in itself. Soil
scientists collaborate increasingly with colleagues from many
fields, and a basic working knowledge of the vocabularies of those
fields improves understanding and enhances the flow of information.
This dictionary brings together the conventional vocabulary of
soil science with that of many overlapping disciplines. It
includes definitions from a range of disciplines such as agronomy,
botany, geology, geography, plant science, forestry, biochemistry,
applied ecology, microbiology and remote sensing. It has over 4000
terms, which are presented in traditional dictionary format, with
equivalent French terms following each definition. The terms are
extensively cross-referenced, giving a deeper understanding of the
interdisciplinary nature of soil science. Indexes group the terms
according to discipline and subject area in English and French.
Appendices include SI units, tables on the Canadian soil
classification and diagrams of soil structure and texture. The
Canadian Society of Soil Science should be complimented with the
initiative to prepare this practical dictionary! Price:
USD 69.95; GBP 46.99. Orders
to: see below. Heavy
Metals Release in Soils.
H.M. Selim and D.L. Sparks, editors. Lewis Publishers, CRC Press
LLC, Boca Raton, London, 2001, viii + 249 p. ISBN 1-56670-531-2.
Hardcover. Characterizing
the nature of heavy metal release reactions, sorption mechanisms,
and movement in the soil is the main topic of this book. Because
soils are heterogeneous, heavy metals in soils can be involved in
a series of complex chemical and biological interactions including
oxidation-reduction, precipitation and dissolution, volatilization,
and surface and solution phase complexation. The heterogeneous
nature of the different soil constituents adds to the complexity
of interactions of heavy metal species with the soil environment. In
the first four chapters, the primary focus in on transport
processes and parameters which control the mobility of heavy
metals in contaminated and uncontaminated soils, assessment of
their potential for migration, and the impact on the soil
environment. Models that are often used to describe the reactivity
and transport of heavy metals in the soil system are described.
The subsequent two chapters are devoted to the kinetics of
sorption-release processes in the soil environment. Theoretical
and experimental analyses of kinetic and reversible processes are
presented. The next two chapters deal with the identification of
the major soil parameters affecting metal lability in soils, a
requisite to the prediction of metal behavior and establishment of
appropriate soil screening levels. The next chapter discusses the
sorption and release processes of selenate in various soils
typical of the Mediterranean area. In the last chapters,
complexation and speciation processes and their influence on heavy
metal mobility are discussed in detail. Price:
USD 99.95. Orders
to: In USA, Canada, Asia, India and Australia: CRC Press LLC, Attn:
Order Entry, 2000 N.W. Corporate Blvd., Boca Raton, FL 33431-9868,
USA. Fax: 1-800-374-3401, or +1-561-989-8732. E-mail: orders@crcpress.com.
Elsewhere: CRC Press, ITPS, Cheriton House, North Way, Andover,
Hants. SP10 5BE, UK. Fax: +44-1264-342788. E-mail: crcpress@itps.co.uk.
Homepage: www.crcpress.com.
Rice:
Nutrient Disorders & Nutrient Management.
A. Dobermann and T.H. Fairhurst. Potash & Phosphate Institute,
Potash & Phosphate Institute of Canada, and International Rice
Research Institute, 2000, viii + 191 p. ISBN 981-04-2742-5.
Softcover. With CD-ROM. Thirty
years ago, persuading rice farmers to use modern varieties and
fertilizers was easy, because the yield increases were often
spectacular. Fertilizers were subsidized, irrigation facilities
improved, rice prices supported, these factors made rice
intensification economically attractive. Future yield increases
will mostly result from the positive interactions and simultaneous
management of different agronomic aspects such as nutrient supply,
pest and disease control, and water. Decreasing subsidies and the
increasing responsibilities of farmers instead of governments for
the maintenance of irrigation facilities means that to achieve the
required future increases in rice production, extension services
will need to switch from distributing prescriptive packets of
production technology to a more participatory or client-based
service function. The present handbook and CD-ROM provide a guide
for detecting nutrient deficiency and toxicity symptoms and
managing nutrients in rice grown in tropical and subtropical
regions. Some background information is included on the function
of nutrients in the rice plant and possible causes of nutrient
deficiencies, together with a description of nutrient deficiency
symptoms, the effect of nutrient deficiency on plant growth, and
the effect of flooding on nutrient availability. Estimates of
nutrient removal in grain and straw have been included, and
strategies for preventing and treating nutrient deficiencies are
described. The main targets of the handbook are the irrigated and
rainfed lowland rice systems. Where appropriate, additional
information is given for upland rice or rice grown in flood-prone
conditions. The texts are illustrated with many color photographs. For
more information, please contact: tfairhurst@ppi-ppic.org;
homepage: www.eseap.org;
or e.hetter@cgiar.org;
homepage: www.cgiar.com/irri. Price:
HDC: USD 80.00; LDC: USD 20.00; plus postage and handling charges
of USD 12.00 for HDC and LDC Orders
to: Ms. Eva B. Ramin, CPS-Marketing and Distribution Unit, IRRI,
P.O. Box 3127, Makati Central Post Office, 1271 Makati City,
Philippines. Fax: +63-2-761-2404. E-mail: e.ramin@cgiar.org.
Or to: Ms. Doris Tan, ESEAP, 126 Watten Estate Road, Singapore
287599. Fax: +65-467-0416. E-mail: dtan@ppi-ppic.org.
Homepage: www.eseap.org. Soil
Fertility Kit. A toolkit for acid, upland soil fertility
management in Southeast Asia.
T.S. Dierolf, T.H. Fairhurst and E.W. Mutert. Potash &
Phosphate Institute, 2000, x + 149 p. ISBN 981-04-2745-X.
Softcover. In
Southeast Asia, the greatest potential for future increases in
agricultural production and productivity lies in the 295 million
hectares of upland or rainfed land. Most upland soils have a low
fertility status and vulnerable to degradation when cleared of the
protective forest cover. The major causes for soil erosion and
upland degradation in SE Asia are rapid deforestation and poor
crop management. Biological, physical and chemical deterioration
of these soils mark the onset of a vicious poverty cycle of
decreasing yields, income reduction, and environmental destruction,
and as a result, most small-scale upland farmers are unable to
participate fully in the developing regional market economy.
Participatory methods are more suitable than prescriptive packages
in upland farming systems development, and technology needs to be
developed and tested with the full involvement of local farmers.
There is an urgent need for soil fertility recapitalization in the
uplands where years of neglect have led to a decreasing soil
fertility. The present publication is a compendium of information
and methods for managing upland soil fertility in SE Asia. This
handbook with its many color photographs, graphs and figures, is a
useful toolkit for extension workers, farmers and researchers.
Part 1 presents practical tools and participatory approaches for
investigation and diagnosis of soil fertility problems in acid,
upland soils. Part 2 provides information on the chemical,
physical and biological properties of acid, upland soils, and the
major causes of soil fertility problems. Part 3 is a compilation
of essential information for extension workers and researchers on
soil classification, soil/plant sampling and testing,
identification of nutrient deficiencies fertilizer recommendations,
simple field tests, critical soil/plant nutrient levels, and
nutrient uptake and removal in crops. The book also contains a
bibliography of relevant publications. Price:
USD 15.00, plus USD 10.00 for postage and handling. Discount for
bulk orders of two or more copies. Please apply to Ms. Doris Tan
at the address mentioned below. Orders
to: Ms. Doris Tan, ESEAP, 126 Watten Estate Road, Singapore
287599. Fax: +65-467-0416. E-mail: dtan@ppi-ppic.org.
Homepage: www.eseap.org.
Sustaining
Soil Fertility in West Africa. SSSA Special Publication Number 58. G. Tian, F. Ishida and D. Keatinge, editors. Soil Science Society of
America and American Society of Agronomy, Madison, 2001, xxi + 321
p. ISBN 0-89118-838-X. Softcover. The
rapid growth of the population of West Africa and the exploitative
use of non-renewable resources in the region have seriously
undermined food security. Local production of food is becoming
increasingly challenged. Though the reasons for this low
productivity are complex, one of the causes is poor levels of soil
fertility, resulting from a combination of low activity clay (LAC)
soils and a lack of external inputs. Based on research carried out
by national and international agricultural research institutions
better-integrated practices in soil and nutrient management have
been developed. Progress has been made in understanding how best
to manage the LAC soils, through minimizing soil degradation and
maximizing the use of local organic nutrient sources in
combination with inorganic fertilizers. This
publication is the outcome of a symposium, held in Minneapolis in
November 2000. The topics in this volume address the principles,
practices, and opportunities for enhancing soil fertility,
presenting the current knowledge of the understanding and
management of soil fertility in West Africa. The book has 14
chapters arranged in three sections. The first section (5 chapters)
highlights information on the storage, turnover, and loss of soil
nutrients and organic matter in LAC soils following agricultural
intensification. The second section (5 chapters) presents a range
of fallow management systems including the use of cover crops and
trees. The third section (4 chapters) demonstrates opportunities
that exist in the region to achieve substantial levels of
additional food production. Price:
USD 30.00. Orders
to: see below. Humic
Substances and Chemical Contaminants.
C.E. Clapp, M.H.B. Hayes, N. Senesi, P.R. Bloom and P.M. Jardine,
editors. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, 2001, 502 p.
ISBN 0-89118-837-1. Hardcover. With CD-ROM. There
have been numerous publications that deal with humic-anthropogenic
and humic-metal interactions, but there has not been a single
treatise with all aspects of these interactions. The lack of such
a book provided the inspiration for this publication. It is
divided into four sections. The first section covers composition
and structure of humic substances. The theme for the second
section is the interaction with xenobiotics. The chapters take
account of adsorption-desorption phenomena involving organic
chemicals and humic fractions. The focus the third section in on
interaction with metals. Emphasis here is on modeling metal-humic
complexation, and due attention is given also to modern
spectroscopic analytical procedures, and to applications of
nuclear magnetic resonance for investigations of the metal/humic
binding mechanisms. The final section examines transport and
modeling. This section is of prime environmental importance,
especially with regard to the tracing of a contaminant to its
source. The CD-ROM combines computational chemistry, scanning
probe microscopy and animated virtual reality to allow readers to
visualize the chemical reactivity of humic substances in ways
we’ve never been able to before. Price:
USD 54.00. Orders
to: see below. Sustainability
of Agricultural Systems in Transition. ASA Special Publication
Number 64.
W.A. Payne, D.R. Keeney and S.C. Rao, editors. American Society of
Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America and Soil Science Society
of America, Madison, 2001, 272 p. ISBN 0-89118-149-0. Softcover. Agriculture
has changes during the last few decades, and will change even more
during the next few. Modern agriculture faces several daunting
challenges, including global food security, persistent poverty,
low commodity prices, dwindling land and water resources,
environmental protection, and meeting the demand of diverse social,
commercial and political movements. Because of the changing
demands placed upon agriculture, and the many technological
advances in feed, food and fiber production, agricultural systems
of the world are ever in transition. To become sustainable,
agricultural systems ought to transition towards ones that are
characterized by favorable economics, conservation of resources,
preservation of ecology, and promotion of social justice. These
issues, with case studies from various countries, are addressed in
this publication. Added
in the publication are relevant papers presented at a concurrent
symposium entitled Food Security and Sustainable Development for
the 21st Century in India. Perhaps no country has
witnessed greater change in agriculture during the last few
decades than India. This nation was threatened by hunger and mass
starvation in the 1960’s, has become self-sufficient in staple
foods, while her population more than doubled. India’s
agricultural systems face many familiar problems, including
flooding, deforestation, soil erosion, overgrazing, air and water
pollution and desertification. These important issues related to
ensuring food security in India are presented in 7 papers. Price:
USD 48.00. Orders
to: see below. Proceedings
of the 5th International Conference on Precision
Agriculture,
Bloomington, July 2000. P.C. Robert, R.H. Rust and W.E. Larson,
editors. American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of
America and Soil Science Society of America, Madison, 2001.
CD-ROM. At
this well-attended meeting more than 200 oral and poster papers
were presented at four concurrent sessions: natural resource
variability, managing variability, engineering technology, crop
modeling, remote sensing, profitability, environment, technology
transfer, and new sessions on geostatistics/sampling, management
zones, management of crop qualities, integrated approaches and new
applications around the world. Participants were convened in
working groups to discuss and make recommendations on needs and
use of Decision Support Tools. A summary of the workgroups
comments and recommendations are also presented. Price:
USD 14.00. Orders
to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Headquarters Office, Attn. Book Order Department,
677 South Segoe Road, Madison, Wisconsin 53771-1086, USA. Fax:
+1-608-273-2021. E-mail: books@soils.org.
Homepage: www.soils.org Estimating
Uncertainty in Soil Models (Pedometrics ’99)
I.O.A. Odeh and A.B. McBradney, editors. Special Issue of Geoderma,
volume 103, nos. 1-2. September 2001, 229 p. Elsevier, Amsterdam,
London. ISSN 0016-7061. This
issue of Geoderma contains some of the papers presented at the
Third Conference of the Working Group on Pedometrics (WG-PM) of
the IUSS, held on September 27-29, 1999, at the University of
Sydney. The theme of the conference, Estimating Uncertainty in
Soil Models, is retained. Uncertainty is inherent in all
estimation models of natural phenomena, whether they are
stochastic or deterministic, mechanistic or empirical. The 11
papers deal with uncertainty in all these categories in a search
for adequate models for describing and explaining soil phenomena
quantitatively. Incorporating and evaluating uncertainty remains a
huge challenge for pedometrics for the first decade of the 21st
century. Orders
to: see below. Land
Use and Sustainability: FAM Research Network on Agroecosystems. P. Schröder, J.C. Munch and B. Huber, editors. Special Issue of
Geoderma, volume 105, nos. 3-4, February 2002, pp 155-386. Elsevier,
Amsterdam, London. ISSN 0016-7061. Improving
information about agroecosystems, developing future strategies for
environmentally compatible land use, and achieving agricultural
productivity and sustainability under one umbrella are the main
goals of the FAM Research Network on Agroecosystems. Scientists of
various disciplines study these topics on a 150 ha research farm
in Bavaria, Germany. The farm is divided into two farming
programs: an organic and an integrated crop production. The
researchers record, evaluate and forecast management-induced
changes of this agrarian ecosystem and its environment. They seek
indicators for sustainable land use and model processes at the
field level, the farm level and, whenever possible, at the
landscape level. This
special issue of Geoderma contains selected research papers from
the period 1993-1998, a subset of the wide range of topics
encompassing the FAM project: farming and economic aspects,
biodiversity and effects on flora and fauna, impacts on soil,
water and air, and process modeling. For further information on
the FAM project, see http://fam.weihenstephan.de Orders
to: see below. Predicting
Land-use Change.
A. Veldkamp and E. Lambin, guest editors. Special Issue of
Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, vol. 85, nos. 1-3, June
2001, 292 p. Elsevier, Amsterdam, London. ISSN 0167-8809. Land-use
change modeling, especially if done in a spatially-explicit,
integrated and multi-scale manner, is an important technique for
the projection of alternative pathways into the future, for
conducting experiments that test our understanding of key
processes in land use changes. Land-use change models should
represent part of the complexity of land-use systems. They offer
the possibility to test the sensitivity of land-use patterns to
changes in selected variables. They also allow testing of the
stability of linked social and ecological systems, through
scenario building. To assess current progress in this field, a
workshop on spatially explicit land-use/land-cover models was
organized within the scope of the Land-Use and Land Cover Change
project (LUCC). The main developments presented in this special
issue concern progress in: (1) modeling and drivers of land use
change; (2) modeling of scale dependency of drivers of land use
change; (3) modeling progress in predicting location versus
quantity of land use change; and (5) the incorporation of
biophysical feedbacks in land-use change models. Orders
to: see below. XVth
ISTRO Conference on Tillage at the Threshold of the 21st
Century: Looking Ahead.
W.B. Voorhees, guest editor. Special Issue of Soil & Tillage
Research, volume 61, issues 1-2, August 2001, 123 p. Elsevier,
Amsterdam, London. ISSN 0167-1987. Published in collaboration with
the Inter\national Soil Tillage Research Organization. This
special issue contains the keynote papers of the 15th
ISTRO Conference, which took place in Forth North, from 2-7 July
2001. It contains an overview paper about ISTRO’s important
history since 1955 and eight keynote addresses, grouped into four
general themes: (1) tillage and soil structure; (2) tillage and
erosion; (3) tillage and biology; and (4) tillage and sustainable
systems. Orders
to: Customer Support Department at the Regional Sales Office in
New York, Amsterdam, Tokyo and
Singapore. See www.elsevier.nl
for details. The
Sustainability of Long-term Growth. Socioeconomic and Ecological
Perspectives. M. Munasinghe, O. Sunkel and C. de Miguel, editors. Edward Elgar,
Cheltenham and Northampton, 2001, xvii + 463 p. ISBN
1-84064-515-6. Hardcover. This
is a comprehensive review of the links between sustainable
development and long-term growth. This state-of-the-art book
develops our understanding of the complex issues that will shape
sustainable development strategies in the 21st century
– economic growth, poverty eradication, environmental protection,
social inclusion and good governance. Sustainability is analysed
in terms of its economic, social and environmental dimensions. The
authors argue that material-intensive conventional economic growth
is unsustainable in the long term, unless environmental and social
elements are given equal priority. Important issues are critically
discussed, including durability versus optimality of development
globalization, dematerialization of production and consumption,
alternative lifestyles, green national income accounting and
environmental valuation, ecodevelopment, the growing North-South
development gap, environmental and trade policy and the equitable
distribution of assets and among nations. The coverage ranges from
comprehensive analytical models to practical case studies
applications, ensuring this will be essential reading for policy
analysts and researchers as well as academics involved in economic
growth, environmental economics and sustainable development. Price:
GBP 75.00. Orders
to: see below. Biodiversity
in the Balance. Land Use, National Development and Global Welfare. R. Cervigni. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham and Northampton, 2001, xix + 271
p. ISBN 1-84064-345-5. Hardcover. Biodiversity
has become over the last couple of decades the subject of
world-wide debate, due to mounting concerns about the negative
consequences of its accelerating decline. The contribution of
biological resources both to sustainable national development and
to the well being of the international community has been
underestimated in the past. Ecological and biological research is
increasingly pointing to the possibility that “low” diversity
of life forms may threaten the satisfaction of material needs,
imperil the life support functions of natural systems, and in
general deprive present, and more likely future generations of
material and spiritual benefits related to a biologically diverse
planet. At the same time, biodiversity is a concept that
encompasses multiple scientific dimensions (genetic, species and
ecosystem levels), multiple scales (local, national and
international), and multiple justifications (materialistic,
ethical, religious) for concern and action. As a result, there
seems to be little clarity on what should constitute the
objectives of public policies for biodiversity conservation and
management. One set of issues appears of particular interest, and
is addressed in this book. These revolve around the broad question
of whether there are options to conserve the benefits of
biodiversity without compromising the benefits of development.
Specific questions that stem from this are: how much land may be
allocated to productive uses without compromising the ability of
biodiversity to contribute to human welfare? Will the development
process continue to exert pressure on biodiversity, or will it
generate incentives for its sustainable use? Does the
international community have a role in facilitating the transition
towards sustainability? This
book contains a collection of writings, drafted between 1993 and
1998. The introductory chapter summarizes the main terms of the
scientific and policy debate. Chapter 2 proposes a framework to
analyse the sequence of land use changes typically observed in a
number of tropical countries; and discusses different policy
interventions which could alter the incentives for land conversion.
A model that addresses the allocative and incentive implications
of the incremental cost mechanism is proposed in Chapter 3. The
actual process of land use change is presented in a case study
made in the region of Sierra de Santa Marta, Mexico. The social
and economic factors are presented, and an economic model is then
proposed for simulating further impacts at the farm level over the
next decade in Chapters 4 and 5. Chapter 6 considers the problem
of the appropriate mix of conservation and sustainable use
management options in the study area. It further formulates
tentative policy conclusions and sketches line of possible future
research. Price:
GBP 59.95. Orders
to: Marston Book Services, P.O. Box 269, Abington OX14 4YN, UK.
Fax: +44-1235-465555. E-mail: direct.order@marston.co.uk.
Homepage: www.e-elgar.co.uk. Labormethoden-Dokumentation.
Geologisches Jahrbuch,
Reihe G, Heft 8. J. Utermann, koordinator, unter Mitarbeit von A.
Gorny, M. Hauenstein, V. Malessa, U. Müller und B. Scheffer. Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe und den Staatlichen
Geologischen Diensten in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Hannover.
E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, 2000, 215
S. ISBN 3-510-95864-0. ISSN
1431-5084. Mit CD-ROM. Die
Staatlichen Geologischen Dienste setzen für viele Bodenkenngrössen
unterschiedliche bodenanalytische Verfahren ein. In der
vorliegenden Labormethoden Dokumentation wird eine Prioritätensetzung
in dem Sinne vorgenommen, dass allgemein verwendete Verfahren
aufgenommen sind, ohne dabei weniger verbreitete Verfahren unberücksichtigt
zu lassen. Die
Labormethoden Dokumentation ist als Datenbank aufgebaut, so dass
sie jederzeit um weitere Methoden und/oder Inhalte ergänzt bzw.
aktualisiert werden kann. Über eine Methodencode Nummer sind die
Methoden direkt mit Analysenergebnissen in Labordatenbanken verküpfbar.
Inhaltlich geht die Labormethoden Dokumentation über die reine
Darstellung von Analyseverfahren hinaus. Der analytisch weniger
versierte Anwender kann sich anhand von Methodenkurzbeschreibungen
schnell Informationen zu den Analysenverfahren verschaffen.
Umgekehrt erhält der Analytiker über Datenfelder zu
Anwendungsbereichen und zur Plausibilität von Messdaten die Möglichkeit,
sich grundlegende Information im Hinblick auf die Verwendung der
Analysendaten zu erschliessen. In einem weiteren Datenfeld werden
Restriktionen bzw. methodische Fehlerquellen aus der Sicht
erfahrener Analytiker aufgelistet. Die Methoden werden
entsprechend einem Mindestdetaillierungsgrad beschrieben. Bei
vorliegenden Normen und anderen Standards wird weitgehend auf
diese verwiesen, andernfalls werden die Methoden ausführlich
dargestellt. Preis: DM
66.50. Bestellungen
an: E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Johannesstrasse
3A, D-70176, Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Fax: +49-711-625005. E-mail: mail@schweizerbart.de. Encyclopedia
of Global Change. Environmental Change and Human Society. A. Goudie, editor-in-chief. D.J. Cuff, associate editor. Oxford
University Press, Oxford, 2001, 1440 p. ISBN 0-19-510825-6.
Hardcover. This
comprehensive and interdisciplinary guide to the Earth’s
environment includes 320 entries, 300 graphs, photographs and maps.
It describes the current knowledge of natural and anthropogenic
changes in the physical, chemical and biological systems and
resources, and explores the effects of those on changes in human
society. The articles cover concepts of global change, earth and
earth systems, human factors, resources, responses to global
change, agreements and associations, institutions, policies,
biographies and case studies. Enhanced by 1500 charts, diagrams,
and other illustrations, extensive cross-references,
bibliographies and an index, the encyclopedia links essential
knowledge across many fields, including geography, geology,
geophysics, atmospheric science, political science, economics,
technology, and others. Price:
GBP 185.00. Orders
to: Direct Sales Department, OUP, Saxon Way West, Corby,
Northamptonshire NN18 9ES, UK. Fax: +44-1536-454-518. E-mail: book.orders@oup.co.uk.
Homepage: www.oup.co.uk.
Or: Order Department, OUP, 2001 Evans Road, Cary, NC 27513, USA.
Homepage: www.oup-usa.org.
Remote
Sensing for Tropical Ecosystem Management.
United Nations. Monitoring
the Earth’s environment by remote sensing provides an
opportunity for greater information sharing and predicting changes
in the Earth’s environment. These conference proceedings spread
an awareness among managers and planners concerned with natural
resources and environmental management about the usefulness of
remote sensing and geographic information system techniques in
aping, monitoring and managing the land and its resources in
tropical environments. Recently have been published: Proceedings
of the Sixth Regional Seminar on Earth Observation for Tropical
Ecosystem Management, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, 3-7 November
1997, 116 p. Sales number E.99.II.F.32. USD 40.00. Proceedings
of the Seventh Regional Seminar on Earth Observation for Tropical
Ecosystem Management, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 7-11 December 1998, 112
p. Sales number E.99.II.F.68. USD 40.00. Proceedings
of the Eighth Regional Seminar on Earth Observation for Tropical
Ecosystem Management, Yangon, Myanmar, 25-29 October 1999, 148 p.
Sales number E.00.II.F.52. USD 50.00. Orders
to: see below. Compendium
of Soil Clean-up Technologies and Soil Remediation Companies. 2nd edition, 2000. United Nations, New York, Geneva, 2000,
vii + 143 p. ISBN 92-1-116748-5. Sales number E.00.II.E.7.
Softcover. This
compendium outlines the major clean-up technologies, which have
been well established in the commercial soil remediation sector.
The technologies are grouped according to the mechanism employed:
chemical, physical or biological. It also presents a listing of
non-commercial websites, which provide information about
technologies, companies and events in the soil decontamination
field. In addition, the publication offers a list of soil
remediation companies giving contact information, technologies
used and number of employees. Price:
USD 40.00 Orders
to: United Nations bookstores and distributors around the world,
or: United Nations Publications, Sales Office and Bookshop, CH-1211
Geneva 10, Switzerland. Fax: +41-22-917-0027. E-mail: unipubli@unog.ch.
Or: United Nations Publications, Sales and Marketing Section, 2
United Nations Plaza, Room DC2-853, Dept. C023, New York, NY
10017, USA. Fax: +1-212-963-3489. E-mail: publications@un.org.
Homepage: www.un.org/publications. Monitoring
Nutrient Flows and Economic Performance in Tropical Farming
Systems (NUTMON).
Part 1: Manual for the NUTMON-toolbox. And
Annex. J. Vlaming, H. Van den Bosch. M.S. van Wijk, A. De Jager,
A. Bannink and H. van Keulen. Alterra,
Wageningen and Agricultural Economics Research Institute, The
Hague, 2001, 180 p. and 137 p. ISBN 90-327-0303-X. Ringbinder.
With CD-ROM. Soil
fertility is a dynamic entity. While parts of Western Europe and
North America face surpluses of nutrients and related pollution
problems, large parts of the tropics see their soil fertility
gradually decrease. Many tropical soils are very old, and such
soils are already deprived from soil nutrients by weathering and
leaching. Soil fertility decline is a largely invisible, gradual
process, which does not get enough attention. Although it is hard
to quantify rates of soil fertility decline, the picture for
Africa and presumably large parts of other tropical continents, is
one of slow to rapid decline. Each year farmers derive part of
their income from soil nutrients. The NUTMON (NUTrient MONitoring)
programme was developed to study the relation between soil
fertility decline (or nutrient mining) and household income. The
present NUTMON-toolbox enables a full-fledged nutrient and
monetary analysis of (a group of) farm households and their
constituents. After describing the momentary picture by a farm
inventory, a farm monitoring can be performed, showing where and
how fast soil fertility changes, and how this relates to farm
economic performance indicators. Several modules have been
built-in, such as relating fodder production to feed intake by
number of livestock units and their production of milk, meat and
manure. After this diagnosis, the Toolbox allows comparison of
development options by bringing in ‘better’ farming systems
based on integrated nutrient management (INM) technologies. The
Toolbox can assist in showing farmers how different INM
technologies change both the soil fertility level as well as their
farm income. The
Toolbox includes four modules and two databases that together
facilitate nutrient monitoring at the level of individual
farmers’ fields and farms as a whole. The following modules are
included: (1) a set of Questionnaires that collects the required
farm-specific information on management, the farm environment, the
farms household, soils and climate; (2) a Data Entry Module that
facilitates entry of the data from the questionnaires into the
computer; (3) a Background Data Module, storing non-farm-specific
information on crops, crop residues, animals, inputs and outputs;
and (4) a Data Processing Module that calculates nutrient flows,
nutrient balances and economic indicators, based on the
farm-specific data from the questionnaires and general data from
the Background Database, using calculation rules and assumptions.
The included databases are: (1) a Background Database containing
non-farm-specific information on, for instance, nutrient content
of crop and animal products, crop and livestock parameters; and
(2) a Farm Database storing farm-specific information. The
set is nicely produced with clear figures, forms, and photographs.
For more information see: www.nutmon.org. Price:
EUR 250, plus VAT when applicable. Free for Universities, National
Research Institutions and relevant NGO’s in developing countries.
See for details the homepage mentioned above. Orders
to: Alterra, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Fax: +31-317-419000. E-mail:nutmon-support@alterra.wag-ur.nl.
Homepage: www.nutmon.org. Sustainable
Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Role of Soil Productivity. A.J. Rayar. AJR Publication, Chennai, 2000, xviii + 339 p. ISBN
81-7525-181-6. Softcover. The
primary aim of this book is to provide a general outline of the
various multifaceted factors, particularly soil productivity that
influence sustainable agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is
growing need for a well-documented information source on the
interrelationship between sustainable agriculture and long-term
soil productivity, and the author treats all relevant factors
involved. In this publication the main thrust of emphasis is on
technically feasible, economically profitable, environmentally
sustainable and socially acceptable means of increasing and
maintaining soil productivity on a long-term basis. Issues such as
those related to the impact of desertification and soil
degradation, the role of biotechnology, integrated fertilizer
management, the role of organic matter and appropriate soil
management strategies are also discussed. The author, who has an
experience of more than 20 years in Nigeria and Rwanda, calls also
for a range of institutional matters: active environmental
pressure groups in every country to monitor activities related to
environment, and effective international linkages among research
institutions. Price:
USD 35.00; EUR 41.55. Orders
to: Prof. A.J. Ayar, Higher Institute of Agriculture &
Livestock, Ribilisi, B.P. 3971, Kigali, Rwanda. E-mail: aj_rayar@yahoo.com.
Comparative
Performance Analysis of Agro-Ecosystems.
C.A.J.M. de Bie. Doctoral
thesis. ITC dissertation no. 75. ITC,
Enschede, 2000, 232 p. ISBN 90-5808-253-9. Softcover. In
this doctoral thesis land use concepts and land evaluation
approaches are reviewed. Recent advances in information technology
can contribute to a more efficient use of land management
information for the improvement of land use planning. The author
introduces new land use database software and a comprehensive
method of land use impact and productivity studies. The
Comparative Performance Analysis (CPA) is introduced as a new
method for land use impact and yield gap studies, the yield gap
being the difference between the average farm yield and its
potential. Three case studies in Thailand and Kenya demonstrate
the applicability of the CPA. Price:
EUR 13.61. Orders
to: Mrs. J. Bunk, ITC, P.O. Box 6, 7500 AA Enschede, Netherlands.
Fax: +31-53-4874400. E-mail: bunk@itc.nl. Homepage: www.itc.nl.
Conservation
Agriculture, A Worldwide Challenge.
Volume I: Keynote Contributions. Volume II: Offered Contributions.
L.
García-Torres, J. Benites and A. Martínez-Vilela, editors. ECAF, Córdoba. Volume I, xii + 391 p. ISBN 84-932237-1-9. Volume II,
xxxi + 815 p. ISBN 84-932237-2-7. Set of two volumes: ISBN
84-932237-0-0. Hardcover. These
volumes contain the proceedings of the First World Congress on
Conservation Agriculture (Madrid, 1-5 October 2001), which was
organized by the FAO and the European Conservation Agriculture
Federation (ECAF). Serious problems of land degradation,
desertification, declining soil fertility and agricultural
production levels are occurring in large parts of the world. These
are for a part caused by the effects of plough-based or hoe-based
agriculture on the soil as a rooting environment. Inappropriate
land management practices cause the soil to become more compact,
the organic matter content to be reduced and water runoff and soil
erosion to increase. They also lead to the effects of droughts
becoming more severe and the soil becoming less fertile and less
responsive to fertilizer. There is now a wealth of evidence from
examples throughout the world of sustainable production systems
that can be achieved when the basic principles of good farming
practice is applied. The term being adopted for such systems is
Conservation Agriculture (CA). This implies conformity with three
general principles: no
mechanical soil disturbance, direct seeding and planting;
permanent soil cover, making particular use of crop residues and
cover crops; judicious choice of crop rotations. CA has
demonstrated that high production levels can be combined with
enhancing the natural resource base and conserving the
environment. Globally, CA is being practiced on about 60 million
hectares, and the rate of adoption is growing. To promote the
dissemination of information through workshops and meetings, the
2001 Madrid Conference was organized as a high-profile example. Volume
I of the Proceedings contains 40 keynote papers, Volume II the 153
contributions presented at this well-attended first international
congress on Conservation Agriculture. Price:
EUR 60.00 plus postal charges. Orders
to: European Conservation Agriculture Federation (ECAF), CIFA
Alameda del Obispo, Avda Menéndez Pidal, s/n, Apdo 3092, E-14080
Córdoba, Spain. Fax:
+34-957-760797. E-mail: ecaf@arrakis.es.
Homepage: www.ecaf.org/congress/latest_news.htm. World
in Transition: Conservation and Sustainable Use of the Biosphere. H.-J. Schellnhuber, J. Kokot, F.O. Beese, at al. German Advisory
Council on Global Change (WBGU). Published by Earthscan, London
and Sterling, 2001, xxvi + 451 p. ISBN 1-85383-802-0. Hardcover. Biodiversity
– the planet’s natural capital – is undergoing a dramatic
collapse: its ‘Sixth Extinction’. The losses, which are due to
human activities and overexploitation of the biosphere, are
irreversible. They are undermining the basis of future well-being
and prosperity - including genetic resources, food production,
climate stability, and coastal and soil protection. This volume
presents an analysis of the state of the biosphere. In it, the
scientists of the German Advisory Council on Global Change show
that the time remaining for remedial action is fast disappearing
and they set out a range of initiatives to be undertaken at
different levels. Among their main urgent recommendations are: (1)
protect 10 to 20 per cent of the global land area; (2) establish
an International Panel on Biodiversity to provide scientific
advice; (3) conservation of the diversity of cultivated as well as
wild plant species; (4) extend bioregional management and nature
sponsorship; and (5) a greater multilateral cooperation and
implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is a
thorough, interdisciplinary view of the biosphere, covering both
science aspects as well as policy issues. Price:
GBP 50.00. If ordered
online from Earthscan directly: GBP 40.00. Orders
to: see below. World
in Transition 2. New Structures for Global Environmental Policy. H.-J. Schellnhuber, J. Kokot,
F.O. Beese, et al. German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). Published by Earthscan,
London and Sterling, 2001, 242 p. ISBN 1-85383-852-7. Hardcover. International
institutions and structures are crucial to the management of the
global environment. Today, more than 900 bilateral and
multilateral environmental treaties are in force. Nevertheless,
the most pressing problems of global environmental change remain
unresolved – some, indeed, are intensifying – and alternative
institutional responses are urgently needed. In this volume the
current problems are analysed and comprehensive and persuasive
policies for a successful future regime are set out. The authors
offer a vision of reforming the United Nations in the
environmental arena that they term the ‘Earth Alliance’,
comprising three interlocking realms: (1) Earth Assessment: the
establishment of an independent body to provide advance warning of
the risks of particular environmental changes. (2) Earth
Organization: the radical redesign of the organizational core of
the international policy, centered on the establishment of an
International Environmental Organization, with the existing United
Nations Environment Programme as its initial nucleus. (3) Earth
Funding: the exploration of new avenues for financing global
environmental policy. Price:
GBP 50.00. If ordered online from Earthscan directly: GBP 42.50. Orders
to: see below. Farmer
Innovation in Africa. A Source of Inspiration for Agricultural
Development.
C. Reij and A. Waters-Bayer, editors. Earthscan, London and
Sterling, 2001, xxii + 362 p. ISBN 1-85383-816-0. Softcover. One
of Africa’s major untapped resources is the creativity of its
farmers. This book presents a series of clear and detailed studies
that demonstrate how small-scale farmers experiment and innovate
in order to improve their livelihoods, despite the adverse
conditions and lack of appropriate external support with which
they have to contend. The studies are based on fieldwork in a wide
variety of farming systems throughout Africa, and have been
written primarily by African researchers and extension specialists.
Examples show how a participatory approach to agricultural
research and development that builds on local knowledge and
innovation can stimulate the creativity of all involved
- not only the farmers. This approach, which recognizes the
farmers as the crucial component of success, provides a
much-needed alternative to the conventional ‘transfer of
technology’ paradigm. This
book is a rich source of case studies and analyses of how
agricultural research and development policy can and should be
changed. It presents evidence of the resilience and resolution of
rural communities in Africa and will be an inspiration for
development workers, researchers and policy makers, as well as for
students and teachers of agriculture, environment and sustainable
development. Price:
GBP 18.95. Special Reader Offer if ordered online from Earthscan
directly: 15% discount. Orders
to: see below. Handbook
of the Field Assessment of Land Degradation.
M.A. Stocking and N. Murnaghan. Earthscan, London and Sterling,
2001, xiii + 169 p. ISBN 1-85383-831-4. Softcover. With
the increasing concern over rural livelihoods and the food
security of poor communities in developing countries, it is vital
that the land quality is maintained. Yet land degradation is
widespread and is lowering the productive capacity of the land in
these countries. This practical guidebook presents simple,
non-technical indicators for assessing land degradation in the
field. Based on the perspective of the farmer, the methods
selected lend meaning to real farming situations, helping the
field professional to understand not only the impact of
degradation but also the benefits to be gained from reversing it. The
handbook shows how to calculate indicators such as those of soil
loss and explains the interpretation of results and, in particular,
how combinations of different indicators can give conclusive
evidence of the severity of land degradation. The focus of the
book in on understanding the farmer’s interaction with the land,
and how environmental protection, food security and the well being
of rural land users may be assured. With many figures, colour
photographs, worked examples and sample forms based on assessment
techniques validated by field professionals in Africa, Asia and
Latin America, this will be an essential training manual for
field-workers, researchers in educational institutions and
students. An outline for a two-week training workshop in land
degradation field assessment is also given, as well as an
annotated bibliography for further reading, and a listing of
websites. Price:
GBP 25.00. Special Reader Offer if ordered online from Earthscan
directly: 15% discount. Orders
to: see below. Dynamics
& Diversity. Soil Fertility and Farming Livelihoods in Africa. Case studies from Ethiopia, Mali and Zimbabwe.
I. Scoones, editor. Earthscan, London and Sterling, 2001,
xii + 244 p. ISBN 1-85383-820-9, Softcover. ISBN 1-85383-819-5,
Hardcover. The
management of Africa’s soils is one of the major challenges
facing agriculture and livelihoods in the 21st century.
Policies to address this tend to assume that soils are being
degraded on a large scale, and that farmers’ practices often
contribute to a ‘downward spiral’ of degradation and poverty
– a familiar narrative of negative environmental change. But
have policies been attuned to local-level understandings of soils
and their change? What can we learn from a detailed understanding
of the way farmers actually manage their soils and the social and
environmental processes that result in their transformation? Is
the story of environmental change always so gloomy? What factors
encourage more positive trends? These are just some of the
critical questions addressed in this book. Based on a series of
detailed case studies from Ethiopia, Mali and Zimbabwe, it
explores the complex dynamics of soil fertility change from an
interdisciplinary perspective, looking at the way farmers actually
manage their soils and the social and environmental processes that
determine their transformation. Through this analysis, new ways of
thinking about agricultural development policy and practice are
presented. Price:
GBP 16.95, softcover; GBP 45.00, hardcover. Special Reader Offer
if ordered online from Earthscan directly: 15% discount. Orders
to: Earthscan, 120 Pentonville Road, London N1 9BR, UK. Fax:
+44-1903-828-800. E-mail: earthinfo@earthscan.co.uk. Homepage: www.earthscan.co.uk.
Trace
Elements in Terrestrial Environments. Biogeochemistry,
Bioavailability, and Risks of Metals.
Second edition. D.C. Adriano. Springer-Verlag, New York, Berlin,
2001, xii + 866 p. ISBN 0-387-98678-2. Hardcover. The
first edition of this book appeared in 1986 under the title Trace
Elements in the Terrestrial Environment. The primary objective was
to provide students and professionals with a comprehensive book
about many important aspects of trace elements in the environment.
The present edition follows a similar format, but includes new
chapters on biogeochemistry, bioavailability, environmental
pollution and regulation, ecological and human health effects, and
risk and risk management and expanding the coverage to include
freshwater systems and groundwater where appropriate. In addition
to plants, which were the main biota of emphasis in the first
edition, fish and wildlife and invertebrates are discussed as
necessary. The ecological and human health effects of major
environmental contaminants, such as As, Cd, Cr, Pb and Hg are also
highlighted, along with relevant information on potential risks to
the ecology and human health. The
chapters are organized by element, which are grouped into “the
big five” environmental metals, the essential elements, and
other trace elements. For all elements are given: the general
properties; the production and uses; the element in nature; the
element is soils; the element in plants; factors affecting
mobility and bioavailability of the element; the element in animal
and human nutrition; the sources of the element in the
environment; and an extensive listing of references. As with the
first edition, the book contains many tables and figures. Price:
USD 198.00; GBP 161.50; SFR 403.39. Orders
to: see below. Treatment
of Contaminated Soil. Fundamentals, Analysis, Applications. R. Stegmann, G. Brunner, W. Calmano and G. Matz, editors. Springer-Verlag,
Berlin, Heidelberg, 2001, xvi + 658 p. ISBN 3-540-41736-2. Hardcover. Anthropogenic
activities have resulted in contaminated soils covering
significant areas of land. In the 1980s people recognized the size
and the consequences of this problem. The developed treatment and
remediation processes were
often very pragmatic. There was a lack of a scientific basis and a
need for further development. There are four main alternatives for
the treatment of contaminated soils: (1) leave the contamination
as it is, but restrict the utilization of the land; (2) complete
or partial encapsulation of the contamination; (3) excavation of
the contaminated soil and land filling; and (4) treatment of the
contaminated soil in-situ, either at an onsite or central plan. In
the long term, the only alternative that makes sense is the
decontamination of the polluted soil. Only by this means the
problem can be solved without transferring it to the future; the
soil needs to be used without any restrictions. This optimum
solution cannot always be achieved, and compromises have to be
made. In
the actual remediation, mechanical, thermal and biological
processes are usually practices. The state of the art is
characterized by a multitude of procedures. This situation has
been achieved by intensive worldwide research where processes have
been optimized and further developed. It was essential to adapt
and further develop the chemical analytical methods and the
monitoring processes for contaminated soil. In addition, the
treatment goals have been elaborated and defined, as toxicological
and ecotoxicological target values are now available on a
scientific basis. Technical soil protection has been developed
into a newly acknowledged scientific discipline, where an
integrated cooperation among scientists from different disciplines
of engineering, chemistry, biology, soils, geology and
environmental planning is essential. The book contains the
following main parts: (1) fundamental aspects (3 papers); (2)
chemical analysis of contaminated soils (6 papers); (3)
ecotoxicological assessment of soils (2 papers); (4)
bioremediation (14 papers); (5) physical treatment (8 papers); and
(6) natural attenuation (3 papers). The appendix offers a survey
of materials, test methods and apparatus, as well as a description
of analytical directions and processes. Price:
EUR 125.19; GBP 86.50; USD 129.00. Orders
to: see below. Understanding
the Earth System. Compartments, Processes and Interactions. E. Ehlers and T. Krafft, editors, in collaboration with C. Moss. Springer-Verlag,
Berlin, Heidelberg, 2001. xvi + 290 p. ISBN 3-540-67515-9. Hardcover. This
volume includes revised versions of most of the presentations made
at an international conference under the same title as this book,
which was held in Bonn in November 1999. There is no doubt that “Global Change” and its scientific analysis and interpretation are on the forefront of international research efforts. Since the detection of global warming, first signs of world-wide melting of ice-masses and glaciers, indications of sea-level rises and/or depletion of the atmospheric ozone-layers, increasing number of scientists have devoted their research to the solution of these and related problems. Global change research and its development over the last 20 or 30 years are testimony not only to the almost unbelievable broadening and deepening of themes, but also to a shift of scientific disciplines. As a matter of fact: the title of the conference and the publication of its proceedings are part of this development. The book has four parts: (1) Panorama: the Earth system: analysis from science and the humanities (5 papers); (2) Focus: Water in the Earth system: availability, quality and allocation in cross-disciplinary perspectives (3 papers); (3) Perspective: advancing our u |