World population is increasing by some 80 million a year, largely in developing countries. Can the food requirements of this growing population be met? How can the limited resources of available land be sustainably managed? Where are the worst areas of land degradation to be found? Why are soils a major element of the environment?
Thin on the Ground seeks to answer these questions by reviewing the successive stages of tropical soils research: soil survey, land evaluation, land use planning, and the evolution of earlier attempts the check soil erosion into the current approach of conservation agriculture. Priorities for today should be soil health monitoring, and linking modern methods of conservation with agricultural advisory services. The author's contention that population policy should be an integral part of agricultural development will not pass unchallenged. Includes 38 photographs, many of historical importance.
"An authoritative and informative overview of soil survey activities in the developing world." WOSSAC: World Soil Survey Archive and Catalogue.
From reviews of the First Edition: "A well-documented, lively and informative description.....The author has a magnificent capacity to synthesize large amounts of information from different disciplines.....Gives a strong sense of excitement....A remarkable and valuable book for anyone concerned with third world development."
Anthony Young has over 40 years experience of all aspects of tropical soils, extending from survey and evaluation to conservation and management. As an early member of the World Agroforestry Centre he was the first to establish the potential of agroforestry in soil management. He has published 15 books, notably the comprehensive review, Land Resources: Now and for the Future, and has been awarded doctorates by the Universities of Sheffield and East Anglia.
About the Author: In a career of over 40 years, Professor Anthony Young has worked in all aspects of land resources development: survey, evaluation, conservation, planning and development. His career has been divided between university-based research and practical contributions to the development of land resources, through work with FAO, the World Bank, international research institutions and consultant companies.
He was a founding staff member of the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia, UK, and subsequently Principal Scientist at the World Agroforestry Centre (formerly ICRAF), Nairobi, where he established the potential of agroforestry for sustainable soil management.
He has published 150 scientific papers and 18 books, and has received doctorates from the Universities of Sheffield and East Anglia. A light-hearted account of his life can be found in the autobiography, Semper Juvenis: Always Young.
