Soil Health Management for Sustainable Development Goals

Soil health is a state in which a soil fulfills its range of ecosystem functions appropriately in its environment. In simpler terms, the well-being of soil arises from favorable interactions among all its components, such as micro-biota, plants, and animals.

The book Soil Health Management for Sustainable Development Goals primarily addresses the issue of soil management at the grassroots level. Soil fertility is the capacity of soil to sustain plant growth and optimize crop yield. This can be enhanced through the use of organic and inorganic fertilizers in the soil. As is widely recognized, the management of soil fertility is a prime concern for crop production and can be improved through the adoption of several sustainable management practices.

Several techniques are suggested that enhance soil fertility and crop production while minimizing environmental impact. Soil fertility can be further improved by incorporating cover crops that add organic matter to the soil, leading to improved soil structure and promoting a healthy, fertile soil; by using green manure or growing legumes to fix nitrogen from the air through the process of biological nitrogen fixation by microbes. Healthy soils produce healthy crops that, in turn, nourish people and animals. Indeed, soil quality is directly linked to food quality and quantity. Soils supply essential nutrients, water, oxygen, and root support that our food-producing plants need to grow and thrive.

The present book focuses on such global issues and offers possible solutions specifically related to UNSDG-17 goals. It also focuses on global strategies with possible solutions to manage sustainability.

Dr. Hanuman Singh Jatav is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Soil science and Agricultural Chemistry, Sri Karan Narendra Agriculture University, Jobner Jaipur (Rajasthan), India. He has more than 4 years of Teaching and 7 years of Research experience in the field of Sewage Sludge, Biochar, Micronutrients, Heavy Metals, Soil Fertility Management including M.Sc. (Ag.) and Ph.D. He has completed B.Sc. (Hons.) Agriculture from Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur-Rajasthan, India. Dr. Jatav has completed his M.Sc. (Ag.) and Ph.D. in Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry from the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi- U.P. India. At present, Dr. Jatav is an emerging person in the field of research transforming himself to an excellent scientific level by enhancing research capacity by promoting environmental sustainability. He has published more than 120 paper(s) including Research papers, Review papers, Books, Book chapters and Technical papers from various National and International repute Journals and Publishers. He is serving as an Academic Editor and member of Subject expertise in Springer, Taylor and Francis, Elsevier, Frontiers, CARJ, JEB, ICAR Journals and Science Domain for the last six years. He is serving as an active member of more than 15 various national and international scientific societies. Dr. Jatav has been awarded a Certificate of Gratitude as an Ambassador by IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature- Gland, Switzerland (https://www.iucn.org/) in the World Conservation Congress during Global Youth Summit. He has been also awarded the best paper and poster presentation for his work. He has also attended more than 40 conferences besides this he has also completed more than 35 training pertaining to his research. Considering Dr. Jatav work at an excellent level he has been awarded as Outstanding Assistant Professor of the Sri Karan Narendra Agriculture University, Jobner Jaipur (Rajasthan) India.

Taqi Raza is working as a research assistant and Ph.D. graduate at the Department of Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA. He has more than 3 years of teaching and 6 years of research experience in the field of carbon sequestration, waste management, bioherbicides, climate change, bioenergy, soil-plant-microbes interaction, zero tillage, and soil nutrients management.

He has published more than 35 papers including research papers, review papers, book chapters, and technical papers in various nationally and internationally reputed journals and publishers. He is serving as a young editorial board member in Carbon Research Journal and reviewer with several scientific journals.