Soils are a vital resource in agricultural production. This book aims to provide an overview of several topics concerning agricultural soil management. Without claiming to be exhaustive, it nevertheless provides a useful basis for understanding how agricultural soils function, and how to manage these functions within agroecosystems. Our approach to soils is multidisciplinary, ranging from natural sciences to human and social sciences. Agricultural Soil Science also highlights the characteristics of soils in specific geographical regions (Mediterranean soils, tropical soils) and environments (urban soils). The content of this book is based on the training programs run by its authors at the higher education establishments where they teach. At a time of ecological transition, soils must once again play a central role in the management of agroecosystems. This book sets out to play its part in making that happen.

Table of Contents:
Introduction xiii Yves COQUET and Joël MICHELIN Chapter 1 Tillage and Structure of Agricultural Soils 1 Yves COQUET and Lionel ALLETTO 1.1 What is tillage? Why should soils be “tilled”? 1 1.2 Soil structure 3 1.2.1 Porosity and bulk density 4 1.2.2 Soil structuring mechanisms 6 1.2.3 A method for characterizing the structure of cultivated soils: the “Profil cultural” 13 1.3 Consequences of the different methods for tilling soil 15 1.3.1 Systems that include tillage (“conventional” agriculture) 16 1.3.2 No-till systems (“conservation” agriculture) 18 1.4 Conclusion 21 1.5 References 21 Chapter 2 The Biodiversity of Agricultural Soils 25 Laure Vieublé GONOD, Sophie JOIMEL and Audrey NIBOYET 2.1 Soil organisms 25 2.2 Biodiversity of agricultural soils compared with other land uses 28 2.3 Effects of agricultural practices on soil biodiversity 29 2.3.1 Effects of mineral fertilizers 30 2.3.2 Effects of the addition of exogenous organic matter 31 2.3.3 Effects of pesticides 35 2.3.4 Effects of tillage 39 2.3.5 Effects of crop diversification 41 2.4 Comparison of cropping systems 43 2.4.1 Organic farming versus conventional agriculture 44 2.4.2 Conservation agriculture versus conventional agriculture 46 2.4.3 Organic farming versus conservation agriculture 47 2.5 Soil biodiversity management – keys for promoting action 47 2.5.1 Bioindicators 47 2.5.2 Link between biodiversity and soil functioning 48 2.5.3 Ecological engineering 49 2.6 Conclusion 50 2.7 References 50 Chapter 3 Spatial Variability and Mapping of Agricultural Soils 63 Jean-Marc GILLIOT 3.1 Introduction 63 3.2 Background: the origins of soil mapping in France 65 3.3 The digital age, from paper maps to spatialized databases: the available information for soil mapping 67 3.3.1 Augerholes, pits and soil analyses 67 3.3.2 The accessible French databases 67 3.3.3 The available international databases 70 3.3.4 Auxiliary cartographic data 71 3.4 Some of the general concepts and methods of soil mapping 74 3.4.1 The concepts of scale, resolution and sampling 74 3.4.2 Notions of regionalized variable and support: spatial organization of soil information 76 3.4.3 Changes to soil information support formats 77 3.4.4 Pedotransfer functions 81 3.5 Examples of uses of soil maps 81 3.5.1 Precision agriculture using drones 81 3.5.2 Modeling of ammonia emissions arising from agricultural fertilization 85 3.6 References 87 Chapter 4 Runoff and Soil Erosion 91 Philippe MARTIN 4.1 Preliminary considerations 91 4.1.1 Forms of erosion 91 4.1.2 Connections with human activity 92 4.1.3 Regulations put in place 92 4.2 The essential processes at work on agricultural land 93 4.2.1 Runoff 94 4.2.2 Sediment loads 95 4.3 Impact of agricultural activities on processes 98 4.3.1 Effects of cropping systems 98 4.3.2 Past and current long-term dynamics 101 4.4 Toward integrated watershed management 102 4.4.1 Limiting concentration levels flowing toward the talwegs 103 4.4.2 Sustainable protection of the talwegs 104 4.4.3 Reducing vulnerability in downstream agricultural territories 105 4.4.4 Population protection measures 105 4.5 The art of avoiding recipes 106 4.6 References 107 Chapter 5 Soils and Agricultural Land Property: Legal Aspects of Sectoral and Functional Protection 109 Louis DE REDON 5.1 Soil, a physical environment like no other? 109 5.2 Soils are covered by the law as a biological environment 112 5.2.1 The legal foundations of soil protections 112 5.2.2 The legal protection of soils 115 5.3 Soils are covered by the law as a property right 119 5.3.1 The legal foundations of agricultural land ownership 119 5.3.2 The legal protection of agricultural land 124 5.4 Toward a global protection of physical environments? 128 Chapter 6 Methods for Estimating the Agronomic Value of Soils 131 Joël MICHELIN 6.1 Why evaluate the agronomic value or the cultural suitability of soils? 131 6.2 Soil functions for agricultural production 133 6.2.1 The soil provides physical support for the plants 133 6.2.2 Soil, a reservoir for air and water 133 6.2.3 The soil: a source of nutrients 134 6.3 Intrinsic properties and characteristics of soils 134 6.3.1 Characteristics that are relatively easy to obtain 134 6.3.2 The water reserve of the soil 136 6.3.3 Natural soil drainage 139 6.3.4 Aeration of the soil 140 6.3.5 Stock and availability of nutrients 141 6.3.6 Workability of the soil 143 6.3.7 Soil tillage 143 6.4 Extrinsic factors 144 6.4.1 Physical environment factors 144 6.4.2 Technical and socioeconomic factors 145 6.5 Evaluation of agricultural values 147 6.5.1 Different levels of approach 147 6.5.2 Principles of evaluation and classification 148 6.6 Examples of observation and classification methods 154 6.6.1 Approach using field pedological surveys 154 6.6.2 Approach using soil maps and databases 154 6.7 Conclusion 156 6.8 References 157 Chapter 7 The Concept of Ecosystem Services and Its Application to Soil: Between Promises and Reality 161 David MONTAGNE, Ottone SCAMMACCA,Christian WALTER and Isabelle COUSIN 7.1 Introduction 161 7.2 A short history of Ecosystem Services: from inception to the international institutionalization of this concept 162 7.2.1 An emerging concept 163 7.2.2 Development and spread of the concept 164 7.2.3 Institutionalization and market entry 164 7.2.4 What is the future of Ecosystem Services? 165 7.3 Definition and conceptualization of Ecosystem Services 166 7.3.1 Ecosystem Services: a product derived from ecological systems or a co-product of ecological and socioeconomic systems 166 7.3.2 Conceptualization using a cascade model 167 7.3.3 Supply, flow and demand 169 7.4 Classification of Ecosystem Services 170 7.4.1 Classification from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 170 7.4.2 The CICES classification 174 7.5 The biophysical quantification of Ecosystem Services 175 7.5.1 What is to be quantified? 175 7.5.2 How to quantify services? 178 7.6 Mapping Ecosystem Services 186 7.6.1 What is to be mapped? 187 7.6.2 How to map? 187 7.7 Applying the concept of Ecosystem Services to the soil component of ecosystems 193 7.7.1 Soils have largely been forgotten about in ecosystems approaches 193 7.7.2 New conceptual frameworks to reposition soils within the cascade model 194 7.7.3 What definitions can be used for Ecosystem Services related to or obtained from soils? 195 7.7.4 Assessing and mapping soil-related Ecosystem Services: where are we at present? 196 7.8 Conclusion 197 7.9 Acknowledgments 199 7.10 References 200 Chapter 8 Mediterranean Agricultural Soils 211 Emmanuelle VAUDOUR 8.1 Introduction 211 8.1.1 Physical and human frameworks and the pedogenesis process in Mediterranean regions 211 8.1.2 Zonality of Mediterranean soils 215 8.2 Fersiallitic red soils 217 8.2.1 Definition and formation processes 217 8.2.2 Geographic distribution and notable sequences 223 8.2.3 Agronomic potential 227 8.3 Vertisols 227 8.3.1 Definition and formation processes 228 8.3.2 Agronomic potential 229 8.4 Soils with limestone accumulations or Calcarisols 229 8.4.1 Definition and formation processes 230 8.4.2 Geographic distribution and notable sequences 231 8.4.3 Agronomic potential 234 8.5 Salisols and Sodisols 235 8.5.1 Definition and formation processes 235 8.5.2 Geographic distribution and notable sequences 238 8.5.3 Agronomic potential 239 8.6 Conclusion 240 8.7 References 241 Chapter 9 Tropical Soils and Sustainable Management 249 Cécile QUANTIN and Thierry BECQUER 9.1 Introduction 249 9.2 Tropical pedogenesis: dominated by geochemical weathering 250 9.3 Typical profile and differentiation of horizons and pedological units 252 9.4 Principal characteristics, diversity of tropical soils 254 9.5 Properties and agronomic consequences 256 9.5.1 Mineralogical characteristics and exchange properties 256 9.5.2 Advanced weathering: nutrition deficiencies and aluminum toxicity 258 9.5.3 Abundance of Fe and Al oxides: implications for the availability of phosphorus 261 9.6 The sustainable management of soils with high geochemical weathering: the role of organic matter in Ferralsols 261 9.6.1 Organic matter and exchange properties 262 9.6.2 Organic matter and nutrient cycling 262 9.6.3 Organic matter and acidification/alkalinization of soils 264 9.6.4 Organic material and phosphorus availability 265 9.7 Conclusion 266 9.8 References 267 Chapter 10 Urban Agricultural Soil 273 Sophie JOIMEL, Tania DE ALMEIDA and Baptiste GRARD 10.1 Introduction 273 10.2 Redeploying urban agriculture 275 10.3 Urban soils: the basis of urban agriculture 277 10.3.1 The large diversity in urban soils 277 10.3.2 Varied physicochemical properties 279 10.3.3 Interesting biological properties 283 10.4 Managing ecosystem services provided by urban soils 284 10.4.1 Ecosystem services – a definition 284 10.4.2 Soils that serve many purposes 286 10.5 Toward decision-making tools 289 10.6 Conclusion 290 10.7 References 291 List of Authors 297 Index 301