Shifting Ground: The Changing Agricultural Soils of China and Indonesia
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
In this book Peter Lindert evaluates environmental concerns about soil degradation in two very large countries--China and Indonesia--where anecdotal evidence has suggested serious problems. Lindert does what no scholar before him has done: using new archival data sets, he measures changes in soil productivity over long enough periods of time to reveal the influence of human activity.
China and Indonesia are good test cases because of their geography and history. China has been at the center of global concerns about desertification and water erosion, which it may have accelerated with intense agriculture. Most of Indonesia¹s lands were created by volcanoes and erosion, and its rapid deforestation and shifting slash-burn agriculture have been singled out for international censure.
Lindert's investigation suggests that human mismanagement is not on average worsening the soil quality in China and Indonesia. Human cultivation lowers soil nitrogen and organic matter, but has offsetting positive effects. Economic development and rising incomes may even lead to better soil. Beyond the importance of Lindert's immediate findings, this book opens a new area of study--quantitative soil history--and raises the standard for debating soil trends.
Book Info
Evaluates environmental concerns about soil degradation in China and Indonesia, where anecdotal evidence has shown serious problems. Uses new archival data sets to measure soil productivity over long periods to reveal the influence of human activity. DLC: Soils--China--Quality.
Shifting Ground: The Changing Agricultural Soils of China and Indonesia
Shifting Ground: The Changing Agricultural Soils of China and Indonesia,Peter H. Lindert,The MIT Press,0262122278,Agriculture,Agriculture - Agronomy,Agriculture - General,China,Ecology,Environmental Science,Environmental Studies,Environmental aspects,Human Ecology,Politics/International Relations,Quality,Soil Management,Soil degradation,Soils,Technology,Agricultural science,Indonesia,Pollution of land & crops,Science / Environmental Science,Soil science, sedimentology
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