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SOIL HEALTH & ECOLOGY 
In Alphabetical Order by Section/Title


We hope that you will visit this page regularly and suggest other resources for enriching it.  We look forward to your contributions.


GENERAL RESOURCES


2015: The International Year of Soils -- Launched 05 Dec 2014 
See Also: Global Soil Partnership 


Status of the World's Soil Resources (Summary) 
Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations -- 2015
See Full Report


World Soil Charter (Revised) 
Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations -- Adopted 08 Jun 2015


BOOKS, ARTICLES AND REPORTS


60 Years of Farmable Soil Left 
Ecology Action (Excerpt from a 05 Dec 2014 Scientific American article by Chris Arsenault)


A Glimpse Below: The Soil Food Web [slide show] 
Dr. Teri C. Balser, University of Florida -- 2006


Assessing Soil Quality in Organic Agriculture 
Alan J. Franzlubbers and Richard L. Haney, USDA Agricultural Resource Service, The Organic Center -- Oct 2006


Earth Matters: How Soil Underlies Civilization 
Richard Bardgett, Oxford University Press -- 2016 
"
Shows how soil, and the multitude of organisms that live in it, control all the biogeochemical cycles on which the functioning and future health of the Earth depends."


Farmacology: Total Health from the Ground Up 
Daphne Miller, MD, William Morrow Publications -- 2013


Fourteen years of evidence for positive effects of conservation agriculture and organic farming on soil life 
Ludovic Henneron et al., Agronomy for Sustainable Development, Volume 35, Issue 1, pp 169-181 -- Jan 2015 


How Industrial Ag is Making the Soil -- and Us -- Unhealthy 
Hannah Bewsey and Katherine Paul, Organic Consumers Association -- 11 Sep 2014
"Does an apple a day really keep the doctor away?  Not anymore, according to soil health experts—unless the apple comes from a tree grown in healthy, organic soil."


Ploughing on Regardless: We’re treating soil like dirt.  It’s a fatal mistake, as our lives depend on it
George Monbiot, The Guardian
-- 25 Mar 2015
"Landowners around the world are now engaged in an orgy of soil destruction so intense that, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, the world on average has just 60 more years of growing crops.


Soil and human security in the 21st century 
Ronald Amundson, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Jan W. Hopmans, Carolyn Olson, A. Ester Sztein, Donald L. Sparks, SCIENCE (published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science): Vol. 348 no. 6235  DOI: 10.1126/science.1261071 -- 08 May 2015
"Human security has and will continue to rely on Earth’s diverse soil resources.  Yet we have now exploited the planet’s most productive soils.  Soil erosion greatly exceeds rates of production in many agricultural regions ... In this Review, we highlight challenges facing Earth’s soil resources in the coming century.  The direct and indirect response of soils to past and future human activities will play a major role in human prosperity and survival."


Soil Atlas: Facts and Figures about Earth, Land and Fields
Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Published in Berlin -- 2015


Soil Biology Primer 
Elaine R. Ingham, Andrew R. Moldenke, Clive A. Edwards, Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA -- 2000
On-line resources related to basic soil biology, soil health & management, the soil food web and more that support healthy plants and crops.  


Soil Carbon Restoration: Can Biology Do the Job 
Jack Kittredge, Northeast Organic Farming Association/Massachusetts Chapter -- 14 Aug 2015


Soil Microbiome Is More Heterogeneous in Organic Than in Conventional Farming System 
Manoeli Lupatini et al, Frontiers in Microbiology -- 04 Jan 2017
"The environmental problems associated with the intensification of agriculture have initiated research efforts for conservation strategies.  Converting conventional farms to organic farming systems seems to be a potential solution to diminish the loss of biodiversity and increase sustainable food production."


Soils for Life 
Farming Matters Magazine, published by the Centre for Learning on Sustainable Agriculture -- Mar 2015


Teaming With Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Food Web
Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis, Timber Press -- 2010 (Seventh printing 2014) 


Teaming with Nutrients: The Organic Gardener's Guide to Optimizing Plant Nutrition 
Jeff Lowenfels, Timber Press -- 2013 (Second Printing 2014)


The Biology of Soil: A Community and Ecosystem Approach
Richard Bardgett, Oxford University Press -- 2005
"Provides a unique combination of information on the biology of soil biota and their roles in ecosystems at different spatial and temporal scales, including wider ecological issues such as biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and global change."


The Soil and Health: A Study of Organic Agriculture
Sir Albert Howard, University of Kentucky Press -- 2007 (First published in the UK, 1947)


The Soil Will Save Us: How Scientists, Farmers, and Foodies are Healing the Soil to Save the Planet 
Kristin Ohlson.  Rodale Books -- 2014


FILMS, VIDEOS & VISUALS


Black Gold: The Secrets of Compost
GardenAfrica
 -- 2013


Dirt! The Movie: A Story with Heart and Soil 
Film by Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow, Common Ground Media -- 2009 


Farmacology [videotaped talk]
Idea Festival, Louisville, KY -- Sep 2013


Soil: Our Climate Ally Underfoot
Center for Food Safety -- 23 Sep 2013


Soil Infographic 
Global Soil Partnership, UN Food & Agricultural Organization -- 2014


Soil to Sky: Agroecology vs. Industrial Agriculture [Inforgraphic]
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Agroecology (UK), reproduced with permission of the Christensen Fund -- 2011


Symphony of the Soil 
Film by Deborah Koons Garcia -- 2012


The Real Dirt: Regenerating Soil Quality to Sustain Life
Gabe Brown, OnEarth, NRDC -- 27 Aug 2013


Unlock the Secrets of the Soil [US Dept. of Agriculture Public Service Announcement]
Dr. Laura Danly, Astronomer, Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles, CA -- 03 Dec 2015
“Studying Earth is just like studying the planets.  Earth is a planet, and it’s the most amazing planet we know.  It’s the only one we know that has life on it, so it’s natural for me to want to talk about Earth and share some important messages with people about how we can make Earth healthier”


WEBSITES


Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative 


Save Our Soils 


Soil Association 


Soil Foodweb Institute


Soil Food Web: Soil Health Laboratory Services for Organic Growers, and Information on Sustainable Agriculture 
Homepage of Dr. Elaine Ingham and Soil Foodweb, Inc. 


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