A comparison of organic and conventional farming

The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) in the USA, assembled in 1980 a high-powered Task Force composed of 24 scientists...

Favorite and influential soil science books

Below is my short article which appeared in the IUSS Bulletin 117 (Nov 2010) and 118 (June 2011) under the title "Favorite Soil Scien...

Biocalcification: the biological accumulation of CaCO3 in rice soils

Lowland rice cultivation can enhance the proliferation of snails resulting in the accumulation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the topsoil. ...

Challenges and opportunities in agriculture

by Dr. Cezar P. Mamaril Senior Consulting Expert of Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) Los Ba ñ os, Laguna I would like to share ...

Global warming and our local environmental problems

Global warming is the increase in the average global temperature. It is a real problem now and we are starting to experience its bad effects...

Earthworms: the most important soil and ecosystem engineers

Earthworms are thought to be the most ancient soil animals having started colonizing terrestrial environments about 600 million years ago (...

The role of mycorrhiza in the mineral nutrition of plants

Mycorrhiza is the association between fungi and the roots of higher plants. The term was introduced by the German scientist A.B. Frank in ...