Advances in Agronomy

DONALD L. SPARKS is the Unidel S. Hallock du Pont Chair and Francis Alison Professor at the University of Delaware. He is internationally recognized for his research in the areas of kinetics of biogeochemical processes and surface chemistry of natural materials. His research has focused on fate and transport of trace metals in soil and water, soil remediation, water quality, and carbon sequestration in soils. Dr. Sparks is the author of two previous editions of Environmental Soil Chemistry and more than 350 refereed papers and book chapters. He is fellow of five scientific societies, and he has been the recipient of major awards and lectureships including the Geochemistry Medal from the American Chemical Society, the Liebig Medal from the International Union of Soil Sciences, the Einstein Professorship from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Philippe Duchaufour Medal from the European Geosciences Union. Dr. Sparks served as president of the Soil Science Society of America and the International Union of Soil Sciences, has served on advisory committees for several national laboratories and national and international centers and institutes, and served as chair of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Committee for Soil Sciences and other NAS Committees.

1. An Important Tool with No Instruction Manual: A Review of Gypsum Use in Agriculture Samuel Menegatti Zoca and Chad Penn 2. Preventive Weed Management in Direct-Seeded Rice: Targeting the Weed Seedbank A.N. Rao, Daniel C. Brainard, Virender Kumar, Jagdish K. Ladha and David E. Jhonson 3. Current Approaches and Future Trends in Compost Quality Criteria for Agronomic, Environmental and Human Health Benefits Maria Pilar Bernal, Sven G. Sommer, Dave Chadwick, Chen Qing, Li Guoxue and Frederick C. Michel Jr 4. Grain Legume Production and Use in European Agricultural Systems Christine A. Watson, Moritz Reckling, Sara Preissel, Johann Bachinger, Göran Bergkvist, Tom Kuhlman, Kristina Lindström, Thomas Nemecek, Cairistiona F.E. Topp, Aila Vanhatalo, Peter Zander, Donal Murphy-Bokern and Fred L. Stoddard