This collection features four peer-reviewed literature reviews on soil erosion in agriculture.The first chapter identifies different types of soil degradation, focussing primarily on soil erosion by water. The chapter explores the impact of soil erosion processes on soil properties that relate directly to crop growth, including soil depth, water-holding capacity, carbon content and nutrient reserves.The second chapter reviews advances in techniques used to ...

Comprehensive overview of key advances in measuring soil biological, physical and chemical propertiesParticularly strong coverage of developments in measuring soil biological activity, including molecular techniques such as next-generation sequencing as well as improvements in measuring fauna such as earthworms, microbial and fungal communitiesFocus on ways of using analytical techniques in practice through the use of soil health indicators and decision support sy...

Highlights the increasing role of soils as an important and dynamic part of the global carbon cycle and their potential role in counteracting increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrationsExplores key aspects of soil carbon sequestration in different environments and soil typesProvides a comprehensive review of socioeconomic, legal and policy issues surrounding the adoption of soil carbon sequestration practices across the globe

Eco-efficient concrete is a comprehensive guide to the characteristics and environmental performance of key concrete types.Part one discusses the eco-efficiency and life cycle assessment of Portland cement concrete, before part two goes on to consider concrete with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). Concrete with non-reactive wastes is the focus of part three, including municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) concrete, and concrete with polymeric, construction and demolition was...

The MBR Book covers all essential aspects of membrane bioreactors in water and wastewater treatment, including the working principles of MBR technologies. The book aims to separate science from engineering, in an attempt to avoid confusion and to help readers understand the ideas of MBR. The text is divided into five chapters; the membrane and biological aspects are discussed in chapter 2 along with scientific studies. The third chapter covers the design, operation, and maintenance of MBR,...

Nitrogen (N) is potentially one of the most complex elements on the Earth. It is necessary for all biological activity, but creates negative impacts on water and air quality. There is a balancing act between deficiency and surplus and the forms of N available further complicate our understanding of the dynamics. Biological fixation provides some plants with N supply while others are totally dependent upon N being available in the soil profile for the roots to extract. Nevertheless, the dem...

More than half the world's population now lives in cities. Creating sustainable, healthy and aesthetic urban environments is therefore a major policy goal and research agenda. This comprehensive handbook provides a global overview of the state of the art and science of urban forestry.It describes the multiple roles and benefits of urban green areas in general and the specific role of trees, including for issues such as air quality, human well-being and stormwater management. It rev...

Artificial or constructed wetlands are an emerging technology particularly for tropical areas with water scarcity. For big cities, the sustainable management of water resources taking into account proper use is always challenging. The book presents case studies illustrating the above. As plants and microorganisms are a fundamental part of the correct functioning of these systems, their contribution to the degradation of the organic matter and to the removal and transformation of the pollut...

This Open Access volume aims to methodologically improve our understanding of biodiversity by linking disciplines that incorporate remote sensing, and uniting data and perspectives in the fields of biology, landscape ecology, and geography. The book provides a framework for how biodiversity can be detected and evaluated—focusing particularly on plants—using proximal and remotely sensed hyperspectral data and other tools such as LiDAR. The volume, whose chapters bring together a large cross...

Soil Pollution: From Monitoring to Remediation provides comprehensive information on soil pollution, including causes, distribution, transport, the transformation and fate of pollutants in soil, and metabolite accumulation. The book covers organic, inorganic and nanoparticle pollutants and methodologies for their monitoring. Features a critical discussion on ecotoxicological and human effects of soil pollution, and strategies for soil protection and remediation. Meticulously organized, thi...

Soil Management and Climate Change: Effects on Organic Carbon, Nitrogen Dynamics, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions provides a state of the art overview of recent findings and future research challenges regarding physical, chemical and biological processes controlling soil carbon, nitrogen dynamic and greenhouse gas emissions from soils. This book is for students and academics in soil science and environmental science, land managers, public administrators and legislators, and will increase unde...

The value of the groceries purchases in the USA is over $500 billion annually, most of which is accounted for by packaged foods. Plastic packaging of foods is not only ubiquitous in developed economies, but increasingly commonplace in the developing world, where plastic packaging is instrumental in decreasing the proportion of the food supply lost to spoilage. This new handbook is a combination of new material and updated chapters, chosen by Dr. Sina Ebnesajjad, from recently published boo...