Soil Biology Bhoopander Giri Ajit Varma  Editors Soil Health Soil Biology Volume 59 Series Editor Ajit Varma, Amity Institute of Microbial Technology, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India TheSpringerseriesSoilBiologypublishestopicalvolumesinthefieldsofmicrobi- ology,environmentalsciences,plantsciences,biotechnology,biochemistry,micro- bialecology,mycologyandagriculturalsciences. Specialemphasisisplacedonmethodologicalchaptersorvolumes.Thisincludes coverage of new molecular techniques relevant to soil biology research or to monitoringandassessingsoilqualityaswellasadvancedbiotechnologicalapplica- tions.Leadinginternationalauthorities withabackgroundinacademia,industryor governmentwillcontributetotheseriesasauthorsoreditors. KeyTopics:microbial-plantinteractions;microbialcommunities;rootsymbiosis, mycorrhiza; rhizosphere environment; soil fauna, e.g. termites etc.; biochemical processes,soilproteins,enzymes,nucleicacids;degradationofbiomaterials,decom- position, nutrient cycles; soil genesis, mineralization; bioremediation of contami- natedsites;biotechnologicalapplicationsofsoilmicroorganisms. Moreinformationaboutthisseriesathttp://www.springer.com/series/5138 (cid:129) Bhoopander Giri Ajit Varma Editors Soil Health Editors BhoopanderGiri AjitVarma DepartmentofBotany, AmityInstituteofMicrobialTechnology SwamiShraddhanandCollege AmityUniversity UniversityofDelhi Noida,UttarPradesh,India Delhi,India ISSN1613-3382 ISSN2196-4831 (electronic) SoilBiology ISBN978-3-030-44363-4 ISBN978-3-030-44364-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44364-1 ©SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2020 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartofthe materialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseofillustrations,recitation, broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionorinformation storageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodology nowknownorhereafterdeveloped. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublication doesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevant protectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublisher,theauthors,andtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthisbook arebelievedtobetrueandaccurateatthedateofpublication.Neitherthepublishernortheauthorsorthe editorsgiveawarranty,expressedorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforany errorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregardtojurisdictional claimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG. Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland Foreword Theprinciplesoffunctionalityandsustainabilityoftheecosystemareincorporated intothedefinitionofsoilhealth,alsoknownassoilquality.Thedisturbances,natural oranthropic, affect thefunctions ofthesoil and,therefore, theirhealth. Theevalu- ationofthisisnoteasy,sinceitisdynamicandcanchangeinashortperiodoftime. These changes depend on thespecific characteristics of thesoil, theenvironmental conditions,theuse,andthemanagementpractices. Inrecent decades,toachievehighagriculturalproduction,intensiveagricultural practiceshavebeendevelopedandapplied;thesepractices,typesofirrigation,and, especially,chemicalfertilizersandpesticideshavehadverynegativeenvironmental consequences. In the same way, large disturbances of natural or anthropic origin haveprogressivelydiminishedtheworld’sforestarea,degradinglargeareasofsoil. This volume addresses the current state of knowledge about soil health; the propertiesofthesoil,especiallythebiologicalcomponent,arerelatedtoitssanitary state. In some chapters, some parameters of these components are analyzed as indicators of soil health; in other chapters, the potential use or application of the biological component to restore or improve soil conditions and the production of sustainable crops is addressed. In addition, the agricultural practices called “green manures” and some novelties in biological components or fertilizer materials are discussedaspossiblestrategiestorestoreorimprovesoilhealthandproductivityina sustainableway.Inshort,thisbookaddressesagri-environmentalsustainabilityfrom thepointofviewofsoils.Wearesurethatthisbookwillhelpusfacesuchimportant challengesforthefutureasglobalfoodsecurityandclimatechange. v vi Foreword Ithanktheeditorsforthisinvitation,andIamsurethatthisbookSoilHealthwill be a great resource for knowledge about the thematic area of soil health and a referenceforacademics,researchers,andstudents. IconveymybestwishestoSpringerNatureandtheeditorsandcollaboratorswho areexpertsinthefieldofthisremarkablebook. ETSIMontes,ForestalydelMedio JoséAlfonsoDomínguez-Núñez Natural,UniversidadPolitecnicade Madrid,Madrid,Spain Preface Soil health can be defined as the capacity of a soil to function within ecosystem frontiers,to sustain biological productivity,tomaintain environmental quality,and topromoteplant,animal,andhuman health.Soil fertility isafeatureofsoilhealth showing thecapacityofasoil toprovidenutrientsfor plant’sgrowth anddevelop- ment. Soil health is established through the interactions of physical, chemical, and biologicalpropertiesincludingsoiltexture,measurementofpercentofthesand,silt, and clay, arrangement of individual soil particles like sand, silt, and clay into aggregates (soil structure), nutrient-carrying capacity and pH, the group of soil organisms like bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes, etc. A healthy soil provides adequate levels of macro-and micronutrients toplants and holds adequate popula- tionofsoilmicroorganisms.Soilrepresentinggoodtilthorstructureoftenfoundto resist soil erosion and compaction and thereby degradation provides adequate aeration and water to plants, promotes good root growth, and maintains worthy biotichabitatanddiversepopulationsofbeneficialorganismsandlowpopulationsof pests and pathogens. Indeed, soil health plays a central role in the economic and socialdevelopmentofacountry.Theproductionoffood,fodder,renewableenergy, andseveralotheressentialcommoditiesvitalforsustaininghuman,animal,andplant lifedependsonsoilhealth.Inthepastfewdecades,humanpopulationhasincreased rapidly, stimulating a tremendous increase in the intensification of agriculture to meet the ever-increasing demand for food. Soils are now showing symptoms of exhaustion and stagnating or declining crop yields. Inadequate and imbalanced nutrient management and desertion of organic manures is gradually triggering nutrient deficiencies in crop fields. Overextracting of mineral nutrients, neglect of organic fertilizers, insignificant nutrient replenishment, excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and irrigation with poor quality water/saline water are foundtobethemajorcausesoffesteringcropproductivity.Sincetheprospectsfor further increase in the area under cultivation are diminishing, much of the desired increase in food grain production needs to be achieved by enhancing crop produc- tivityperunitareathroughholisticandsustainableapproaches. vii viii Preface ThevolumeSoilHealthcomprises19provocativechapterswrittenbytheexperts of thisfield, covers latestresearch,andprovidesup-to-date knowledge of different aspectsofsoilhealth,factorsinfluencingsoilhealth,consequencesofdegradationof soil health on sustainable agriculture, and solutions to improve and maintain soil healthsoastoachievethegoalofhigherproductivityandsustainabilitywithoutany damagetothesoilsystemandtheenvironment.Webelievethatwiththeopulenceof information on different aspects of soil health and its sustainability, this extensive volume is a valuable resource for researchers, academicians, and students in the broadfieldofbotany,ecology,microbiology,andagriculture. We are highly delighted and thankful to all our contributing authors for their endlesssupportandoutstandingcooperationtowritealtruisticallytheseauthoritative and valuable chapters. We extend our sincere thanks to all our colleagues who helped us in the preparation and compilation of this generous volume. We also thankSpringerofficials,especiallyWilliamFCurtis,EricSchmitt,SabineSchwarz, PaulRoos,NathalieBerg,andAnandVentakachalamfortheirgeneroussupportand efforts to accomplish this wide volume. We especially thank our families for consistentsupportandencouragement. Delhi,India BhoopanderGiri Noida,UttarPradesh,India AjitVarma Contents 1 SoilHealthinIndia:PastHistoryandFuturePerspective. . . . . . . . 1 PriyankaSrivastava,ManjuBalhara,andBhoopanderGiri 2 BiocharforMaintainingSoilHealth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 NguyenHue 3 PlantGrowth-PromotingRhizobacteria:ABooster forAmelioratingSoilHealthandAgricultureProduction. . . . . . . . 47 PratibhaRawat,DeeptiShankhdhar,andS.C.Shankhdhar 4 VermicompostandSoilHealth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 RanjitChatterjee,AnkitaDebnath,andSubhalaxmiMishra 5 ImpactofAgriculturalPracticesonSoilHealth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 ElizabethTemitopeAlori,ArunaOlasekanAdekiya, andKehindeAbodundeAdegbite 6 ContributionofBiocharinImprovingSoilHealth. . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 A.O.Adekiya,T.M.A.Olayanju,S.W.Ejue,E.T.Alori, andK.A.Adegbite 7 SoilHealthandFoliarFertilisers. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 115 ApostolosPapadopoulos 8 WildPlantsfromCoastalHabitatsasaPotentialResource forSoilRemediation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 GedertsIevinsh,UnaAndersone-Ozola,ZaigaLandorfa-Svalbe, AndisKarlsons,andAnitaOsvalde 9 AbioticandBioticFactorsInfluencingSoilHealth and/orSoilDegradation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 K.S.AnilKumarandK.S.Karthika ix