BookSantanu Kumar Bal, Joydeep Mukherjee, Burhan Uddin Choudhury, Ashok Kumar Dhawan, editors.
Summary: Agriculture is currently facing multi-faceted threats in the form of unpredictable weather variability, frequent droughts and scarcity of irrigation water, together with the degradation of soil resources and declining environmental health. These stresses result in the modification of plant physiology to impart greater resilience to changing abiotic and biotic environments, but only at the cost of declining plant productivity. In light of these facts, assessing the status of natural resource bases, and understanding the mechanisms of soil-plant-environment interactions so as to devise adaptation and mitigation approaches, represent great and imminent challenges for all of us. In this context, it is essential to understand the potential applications of modern tools, existing coping mechanisms and their integration, as this will allow us to develop suitable advanced mitigation strategies.^From a broader perspective, the book deals with crop-environment interaction in the context of changing climatic conditions. To do so, it addresses four major aspects: Understanding the mechanism of carbon dynamics in the soil-plant-environment continuum; greenhouse gas fluxes in agricultural systems; and soil properties influenced by climate change and carbon sequestration processes. Mitigation and management of the photo-thermal environment to improve crop productivity; soil health under variable climate; reducing agro-ecosystem evapotranspiration losses through biophysical controls; and heat stress in field crops and its management. Studying the impact of climate change on biotic environments; insect-pest interactions; manifestations of disease; and adaptation strategies for island agro-ecosystems. Innovative approaches to assess stress impacts in crops, such as crop modeling, remote sensing, spectral stress indices etc.^The book presents a collection of contributions from authoritative experts in their respective fields. Offering young researchers new perspectives and future research directions, it represents a valuable guide for graduate students and academics alike.
Contents:
Intro; Preface; Contents; About the Editors; Part I: Understanding the Process of Interaction;
1: Carbon Dynamics in Soil-Plant-Environment System on Climate Change Perspective: Special Reference to Rice; 1.1 Introduction; 1.2 Carbon Cycling in Soil, Plant and Environment; 1.3 Soil Carbon Dynamics; 1.3.1 Active Fractions/Pools of Soil Organic Carbon; 1.3.2 Passive Fractions/Pools of Soil Organic Carbon; 1.3.3 Slow Fractions/Pools of Organic Carbon; 1.4 Effects of Soil Management on Active and Passive Fraction/Pools of SOC; 1.5 Stability and Degradation Kinetics of Soil Organic Carbon 1.13.1 Biochar1.13.2 Conservation Agriculture; 1.13.3 Principles of Conservation Agriculture; 1.13.4 Cover Crop and Residue Management; 1.14 Carbon Dynamics and Climate Change Feedback; References;
2: Monitoring Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Agro-ecosystems; 2.1 Introduction; 2.2 Techniques for GHG Measurement; 2.2.1 Chamber Methods; 2.2.2 Micrometeorological Methods; 2.2.2.1 Vertical Gradient Methods; 2.2.2.2 Eddy Covariance Methods; 2.3 Designing Experimental Setup with EC System; 2.3.1 Site Characteristics; 2.3.2 Positioning of the Flux Tower; 2.3.3 Height of Sensor Placement 1.6 Drivers of Soil Organic Carbon Decomposition1.6.1 Arrhenius Equation and Michaelis-Menten Kinetics; 1.6.2 Cancelling Effects; 1.7 Plant Carbon: Partitioning and Allocation; 1.8 Environment Carbon; 1.9 Methane Emissions from Rice Fields; 1.10 Carbon Sequestration; 1.11 Mechanism of Carbon Sequestration; 1.11.1 Physical; 1.11.2 Chemical; 1.12 Soil Processes Affecting C Sequestration; 1.12.1 Aggregation; 1.12.2 Secondary Carbonates Formation; 1.12.3 Humification; 1.12.4 Translocation and Transportation; 1.12.5 Mineralization; 1.12.6 Soil Erosion; 1.13 Management for Carbon Sequestration 2.3.4 Instrumentation2.4 Measurement Issues: Data Screening, Corrections and Gap Filling; 2.4.1 Errors: Causes and Correction Measures; 2.4.2 Missing Data and Gap-Filling Techniques; 2.4.2.1 Mean Diurnal Variation; 2.4.2.2 Multiple Regression; 2.4.2.3 Semiempirical Methods; 2.4.2.4 Multiple Imputation (MI); 2.4.2.5 Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs); 2.4.2.6 Process-Based Models; 2.4.3 Other Approaches; 2.5 Flux Validation; 2.6 GHG Fluxes from Agro-Ecosystems; 2.6.1 Carbon Dioxide (CO2); 2.6.2 Methane (CH4); 2.6.3 Nitrous Oxide (N2O) 2.7 Measurement of GHG Fluxes in Some Crop Ecosystems of Indian Peninsula: Case Study2.8 Conclusions; References;
3: Methane Emission from Wetland Rice Agriculture-Biogeochemistry and Environmental Controls in Projected Changing Environment; 3.1 Introduction; 3.2 Mechanisms of the Methane Emission from Wetland Rice; 3.3 Factors Controlling Methane Emissions from Wetland Rice Agriculture Under Submergence; 3.3.1 Soil Texture and Soil Structure; 3.3.2 Soil pH; 3.3.3 Soil Redox Potential (Eh); 3.3.4 Soil Chemical Condition; 3.3.5 Soil Temperature; 3.3.6 Soil Organic Matter; 3.3.7 Soil Salinity