Table of Contents

Contributors xi

Foreword by Sally Collins xv

Introduction xvii

Chapter 1 Science, Ethics, and the Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis: Was White Right? 3
Thomas J. Sauer and Michael P. Nelson

1.1 Introduction 3

1.2 Historical Perspective on Soil Degradation 4

1.3 The New Challenge of Global Climate Change 5

1.4 White 8

1.5 Other Views on the Ethics of Land Use: Leopold et al. 9

1.6 Ethical Considerations of Strategies for Climate Change Mitigation: An Example 11

1.7 Conclusions 13

Acknowledgements 14

Chapter 2 Intellectual Inertia: An Uneasy Tension between Collective Validation of the Known and Encouraging Exploration of the Unknown 17
John M. Norman

2.1 Introduction 17

2.2 Defining Intellectual Inertia 17

2.3 Examples of Intellectual Inertia 18

2.4 Intellectual Inertia is Unavoidable But Requires Vigilance 21

2.5 Intellectual Inertia and Climate Change Science 23

2.6 Optimizing Intellectual Inertia 26

Chapter 3 The Ethics of Soil: Stewardship, Motivation, and Moral Framing 31
Paul B. Thompson

3.1 Introduction 31

3.2 Private Property and Personal Ethics 32

3.3 Common Pool Resources 33

3.4 Public Policy 35

3.5 Instrumental Values of Soil 36

3.6 Beyond Instrumental Value 38

3.7 Conclusion and Next Steps 40

Chapter 4 Aldo Leopold and the Land Ethic: An Argument for Sustaining Soils 43
Susan L. Flader

4.1 Introduction 43

4.2 The Shaping of a Progressive 43

4.3 Erosion as a Menace 45

4.4 Standards of Conservation 46

4.5 Conservation as a Moral Issue 47

4.6 Wildlife and Soils 49

4.7 The Conservation Ethic 50

4.8 An Adventure in Cooperative Conservation 52

4.9 Land Pathology 55

4.10 Land Health 56

4.11 The Land Ethic 59

4.12 Epilogue 61

Chapter 5 Rural Response to Climate Change in Poor Countries: Ethics, Policies, and Scientific Support Systems in Their Agricultural Environment 67
C. J. (Kees) Stigter

5.1 Introduction 67

5.2 Ethics 68

5.3 Policies 69

5.4 Scientific Support Systems 71

5.5 Conclusions 75

Chapter 6 Soil and Human Health 79
Eiliv Steinnes

6.1 Introduction 79

6.2 Essential Trace Elements 80

6.3 Concerns for the Future 84

Chapter 7 Agroecological Approaches to Help “Climate Proof ” Agriculture While Raising Productivity in the Twenty-First Century 87
Norman Uphoff

7.1 Introduction 87

7.2 Agroecological Approaches 88

7.3 The System of Rice Intensification 90

7.4 Effects of SRI Practices on Agriculture Affected by Climate Change 93

7.5 Applications to Crops Other than Rice 97

7.6 Climate-Proofing Agriculture 98

Chapter 8 Ecological Integrity and Biological Integrity: The Right to Food 103
Laura Westra

8.1 Introduction 103

8.2 Ecological Integrity and Food Production Today 104

8.3 The Legal Status of Genetically Modified Organisms 110

8.4 Western Diets and Lifestyle Preferences: Vegan versus Carnivore 112

8.5 Conclusion 113

Chapter 9 Soil Ecosystem Services: Sustaining Returns on Investment into Natural Capital 117
Brent E. Clothier, Alistair J. Hall, Markus Deurer, Steven R. Green, and Alec D. Mackay

9.1 Introduction 117

9.2 F. H. King—“Farmers of Forty Centuries” 118

9.3 Soil: Valuable Natural Capital 120

9.4 Valuing Ecosystem Services 123

9.5 Valuing Carbon and Soil Ecosystem Services 125

9.6 Valuing Terroir 129

9.7 Land-Use Policy, Nutrient Management, and Natural Capital 133

9.8 Conclusion 136

Chapter 10 Climate and Land Degradation 141
Mannava V. K. Sivakumar

10.1 Introduction 141

10.2 Influence of Land Surface Changes on Climate 142

10.3 Climate Change and Land Degradation 142

10.4 Climate Variability and Impacts on Land Degradation 145

10.5 Technologies, Policies, and Measures to Address the Linkages between Climate and Land Degradation 151

10.6 Future Perspectives 151

Chapter 11 The Role of Soils and Biogeochemistry in the Climate and Earth System 155
Elisabeth A. Holland

11.1 Introduction 155

11.2 Lessons Learned from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 155

11.3 The Carbon Cycle 159

11.4 The Nitrogen Cycle 163

11.5 Future of Earth System Models 165

Chapter 12 Net Agricultural Greenhouse Gases: Mitigation Strategies and Implications 169
Claudia Wagner-Riddle and Alfons Weersink

12.1 Introduction 169

12.2 Mitigation Practices for Reduction of Net GHG Emissions 170

12.3 Net GHG Reduction 172

12.4 Case Study 1: GHG Emission Mitigation through Composting of Liquid Swine Manure 172

12.5 Case Study 2: Direct and Indirect N2O Emission Reduction through Soil Tillage and Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Practices 174

12.6 Designing Policies for Reduced Nitrogen Fertilizer Use 175

12.7 Conclusion 180

Chapter 13 Overview on Response of Global Soil Carbon Pools to Climate and Land-Use Changes 183
Thomas Eglin, Philippe Ciais, Shi Long Piao, Pierre Barré, Valentin Belassen, Patricia Cadule, Claire Chenu, Thomas Gasser, Markus Reichstein, and Pete Smith

13.1 Introduction 183

13.2 Global Distribution of SOC 183

13.3 Global Vulnerability of SOC to Climate and Land-Use Change 185

13.4 Historical Land Cover, Agricultural Management, and Climate Change Effects on SOC 186

13.5 Future Changes in Climate and Land Use and the SOC Balance 190

13.6 Discussion: Uncertainties and Future Directions 192

13.7 Conclusions 193

13.8 Methods 194

Acknowledgement 195

Chapter 14 Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Microbial Function in Soil: The Effect of Elevated CO₂ Concentration 201
Paolo Nannipieri

14.1 Introduction 201

14.2 Effect of CO₂ Concentration on Plant C Inputs including Rhizodeposition to Soil 202

14.3 Effects of Elevated CO₂ Concentration on Activity, Size, and Composition of Soil Microbiota 203

14.4 Effects of Elevated CO₂ Concentration on Mycorrhizal Infections of Plants 205

14.5 Effect of Elevated CO₂ Concentration on Biotic Interactions and on the Rhizosphere Microfauna 205

14.6 Effects of Increased CO₂ Concentration, Global Warming, and Changes in Soil Moisture on Microbial Functions Related to C Sequestration in Soil 206

14.7 Conclusions 208

Chapter 15 Impacts of Climate Change on Forest Soil Carbon: Uncertainties and Lessons from Afforestation Case Studies 213
Philip J. Polglase and Keryn I. Paul

15.1 Introduction 213

15.2 Afforestation Overview 215

15.3 Implications for Predicting Climate Change Impacts 218

15.4 Modeling the Impacts of Climate Change on Soil Carbon 219

15.5 Conclusion 222

Acknowledgments 222

Chapter 16 The Effect of Forest Management on Soil Organic Carbon 225
Giustino Tonon, Silvia Dezi, Maurizio Ventura, and Francesca Scandellari

16.1 Forest Ecosystems and Global Carbon Cycle 225

16.2 Effect of Forest Management on Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration 227

16.3 Forest Management Strategies and Forest Structures Improving Carbon Storage 234

16.4 Conclusions 235

Index 239