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.

Advances in the Analysis of Biogeochemical Interfaces: NanoSIMS to Investigate Soil Microenvironments
Carsten W. Mueller, Peter K. Weber, Matt R. Kilburn, Carmen Hoeschen, Markus Kleber and Jennifer Pett-Ridge

Conservation Practices for Climate Change Adaptation
Jorge A. Delgado, Mark A. Nearing and Charles W. Rice

Characterization of Organic Matter Composition of Soil and Flow Path Surfaces Based on Physico- Chemical Principles – A Review
Ruth H. Ellerbrock and Horst H. Gerke

The Chemistry and Biochemistry of Organic Components in the Soil Solutions of Wheat Rhizospheres
Carlos M. Monreal and Morris Schnitzer

Sustainable Management of Soils of Dryland Ecosystems of India for Enhancing Agronomic Productivity and Sequestering Carbon
Ch. Srinivasarao, B. Venkateswarlu, Rattan Lal, A.K. Singh and Sumanta Kundu

The Influence of Volcanic Tephra (Ash) on Ecosystems
Olafur Arnalds

Advances in Elucidating Beneficial Interactions Between Plants, Soil and Bacteria
Birgit Mitter, Günter Brader, Muhammad Afzal, Stephane Compant, Muhammad Naveed, Friederike Trognitz and Angela Sessitsch

The Buffer Power Concept and its Relevance in African and Asian Soils K.P. Prabhakaran Nair