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BOOK REVIEW

Agricultural Practices and Policies for Carbon Sequestration in Soil

School of Biological Sciences University of Aberdeen Scotland

pete.smith{at}abdn.ac.uk

Edited by J.M. Kimble, R. Lal, and R.F. Follett, Lewis Publishers, 2000 NW Corporate Blvd., Boca Raton, FL 33431. 2002. 512 p. $159.95 hardcover. ISBN 1-56670-581-9.

The book is a companion to two previous books, The Potential of US Cropland to Sequester Carbon and Mitigate the Greenhouse Effect (Ann Arbor Press, 1998) and The Potential of US Grazing Lands to Sequester Carbon and Mitigate the Greenhouse Effect (Lewis Publishers, 2001). Like the latter book, but unlike the first, this book is a collection of papers from different authors. As such, this book, like the "grazing lands" book, is less like a textbook and is more of a summary of current research and state-of-the-art findings in this field. However, as in previous edited proceedings, the editors have added a significant synthetic component, which make the chapters and sections fit together well. The final chapter summarizes "what we know and where we need to go" so policymakers, wanting equivalent figures to those presented in the "cropland" book, will not be disappointed.

This book provides 48 papers in 9 sections and runs to 512 pages. The presence of an index means that information is considerably easier to find than in the "grazing lands" book, which lacked an index.

The book has sections on (i) historical perspectives, (ii) conservation tillage and residue management, (iii) monitoring and assessment, (iv) soil management, (v) soil structure and carbon sequestration, (vi) economics of carbon sequestration, (vii) policy issues and industrial and farmer viewpoints, and (viii) regional pools. Some of the sections (e.g., conservation tillage and residue management, soil management) cover some of the same ground as the "cropland" book and seem to fit less well here. Other sections (e.g., monitoring and assessment, economics of carbon sequestration, policy issues and industrial and farmer viewpoints) were not dealt with to any great extent by the other books and clearly belong in this book.

The chapters, as with any proceedings, vary in importance. Some review previously published work while others present novel data; some chapters examine truly global issues while others deal with rather specific problems in specific regions. However, I am already referring to some of the chapters (e.g., Sperow et al., Chapter 32; Conant et al., Chapter 41; Adams and Lioubimtseva, Chapter 44) in my papers on this subject. All in all, the book provides a useful companion to the above-mentioned books. Though there is some overlap in content with previous books in the series, there is sufficient novel content to persuade researchers and students interested in soil carbon sequestration to purchase a copy of the book.

This Article Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Smith, P. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Smith, P. Agricola Articles by Smith, P.