This book contains a collection of 14 case studies from around the globe that illustrate the impact of a range of land-use changes on the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of soils and provide a snapshot of the challenges faced in ensuring sustainable soil management in tropical and savannah environments. This book is not a comprehensive account of all the drivers of soil change in the tropics, nor does it cover all areas of the tropics. It does, however, take a broad view of the tropics, with the inclusion of studies from South Africa and the dry sub-humid tropics of the Kalahari as well as the humid tropics. Tropics are drawn from a wide geographical area including South and Central America, South East Asia, India and Africa, and the chapters have been contributed by authors from all of these areas as well as Europe, North America, Australasia and Japan. It thus provides a snapshot of a range of factors affecting soils across the globe. From this, emerges topics that can be grouped into the following themes: the effects of land-use change on soil microbial populations; urban soils, agriculture and soil contamination; and land-use effects on soil carbon and soil organic matter.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Land-use Change Impacts on Soil Processes in Tropical and Savannah Ecosystems : An Introduction / Francis Q. Brearley and Andrew D. Thomas -- Effects of Land-use Changes on Biochemical and Microbial Parameters in Soils of the Andaman Islands, India / Raghavan Dinesh, Arkalgud Ganeshamurthy and Subrata Ghoshal Chaudhuri -- Evaluating the Impact of Oil Palm Agriculture and Logging on Soil Microbial Communities in South-east Asia / Heather D'Angelo, Krista L. McGuire, Caitlyn Gillikin, Francis Q. Brearley and Dina C. Merrer -- Microbial Functioning in Response to a Simulated Drought in Malaysian Rain Forest and Oil Palm Soils / Francis Q. Brearley -- Impact of Land-use Changes in the Amazon on Bacterial Diversity, Composition and Distribution / Lucas W. Mendes, Acácio A. Navarrete, Clóvis D. Borges, Eiko E. Kuramae and Siu Mui Tsai -- Acidification of Tropical Soils under Forest and Continuous Cropping in Thailand and Indonesia / Kazumichi Fujii, Chie Hayakawa, Shinya Funakawa and Takashi Kosaki -- The Importance of Soil Quality in the Safe Practice of Urban Agriculture in Zimbabwe, Kenya and South Africa / Lovemore Chipungu, Hangwelani H. Magidimisha, Michael Hardman and Luke Beesley -- Urbanization and Soil Nutrient Challenges and Opportunities : Lessons from Malawian Cities / David D. Mkwambisi, Andrew J. Dougill, Philip Antwi-Agyei and Chikondi P. Chabvuta -- Impact of Gold Mining on Mercury Contamination and Soil Degradation in Amazonian Ecosystems of French Guiana / Michel Grimaldi, Stéphane Guédron and Catherine Grimaldi -- Erosion and Sedimentation Effects on Soil Organic Carbon Redistribution in a Complex Landscape in Western Ecuador / Marife D. Corre, Jeroen M. Schoorl, Free de Koning, Magdalena López-Ulloa and Edzo Veldkamp -- Pastoralism and Kalahari Rangeland Soils / Andrew D. Thomas, David R. Elliott, Tasmin N.L. Griffith and Helen Mairs -- Changes in Soil Properties with Sugarcane Cropping in Mauritius / L. Ronald Ng Cheong and Gunshiam Umrit -- Patterns and Drivers of Soil Carbon Stocks and Isotopic Composition in Secondary Tropical Dry Forests of Costa Rica / Jennifer S. Powers, David W.P. Manning and Justin M. Becknell -- Conversion of Pastures into Tectona grandis Plantations in Western Panamá : Effects on Soil Properties and the Mechanisms Underlying these Changes / Luitgard Schwendenmann and Simon Kaiser -- Land-use Change Impacts on Soil Processes in Tropical and Savannah Ecosystems : Emerging Themes and Future Research Directions / Andrew D. Thomas, Marife D. Corre, Luitgard Schwendenmann, Edzo Veldkamp, Kazumichi Fujii, Krista L. McGuire, David D. Mkwambisi, L. Ronald Ng Cheong, Jennifer S. Powers and Francis Q. Brearley.

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Title from PDF title page (viewed January 25, 2016).