*CA-CoP* *CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE*

*for sustainable production intensification*

Dear  Subscribers,

The following link is for a Masters thesis submitted by Janice S. Snow at
TUFTS UNIVERSITY, USA, November 2009 entitled:

MISUNDERSTANDING SOIL ECOSYSTEMS: How flawed conceptions of soil have lead
to flawed U. S. land, water and climate policies.

http://www.tufts.edu/water/pdf/Thesis/JSnowThesis.pdf



*Abstract*
Flawed conceptual models of soil functions have been cited by soil
ecologists and others
as contributing to missing policy and inadequate research on soil
ecosystems. Although new soil
research methods and tools have provided much greater detail on the
functioning of soil
ecosystems, U. S. soil policy and commonly accepted models of soil systems
do not reflect that
knowledge. This work investigates the dominant conceptual models of soil
underlying existing
U.S. policy along with the diverse and interdependent drivers of soil
models and related land,
water and climate policies. These policy drivers include the history of U.
S. land use, agriculture
and environmental policy, the development of reductionist views of soil
systems and the
continued and often obscured interdependancies among business, farmers,
legislators,
government agencies, educational institutions and policy makers. The final
chapter evaluates soil
policy trends in the United States and abroad for their potential to
positively or negatively affect
soil ecosystem health.

*Amir Kassam *

*Moderator*

e-mail: [log in to unmask]

URL: www.fao.org/ag/ca

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