Sustainable Soil Management Is More than What and How Crops Are Grown

Abstract

The title of this chapter is “Sustainable Soil Management Is More Than What and How Crops Are Grown.” Not only how and what crops are grown matters but also the interactions of the two in space and time lead to effects and consequences that influence system performance and delivery of ecosystem services. Some ecosystem services involve processes such as hydrological, carbon, and nutrient cycling that operate at the level of the fields on farms, landscapes, watersheds, and beyond. In addition, agricultural soil management is undertaken within different farming systems for the purpose of producing biological products for markets, and a range of production inputs, equipment and machinery, and management skills are needed to operate successfully.