Best Management Practices for Saline and Sodic Turfgrass Soils: Assessment and Reclamation - Tapa dura

"This book is the latest from Drs. Carrow and Duncan, who have published and lectured extensively on soil salinity and sodicity issues and the management of such soils over the past 15 years or so. ... provides a comprehensive coverage of the nominated topic with twenty chapters organized sequentially under five section headings. ... Throughout the book, the authors are to be commended for highlighting links to related chapters and parts thereof. ... For both consultants and academics, there is much to like about this book. ... this is a book that many soil scientists and agronomists dealing with salt-affected sites the world over will find extremely useful, and one that we can wholeheartedly recommend for their bookshelves."
―D. S. Loch, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, and R. J. Loch, Landloch Pty Ltd, Toowoomba, Australia, in Grass and Forage Science, 68, 606-607, 2013

"Drs. Carrow and Duncan have created an update to their previous book published in 1998 entitled Salt-Affected Turfgrass Sites. That book has been a staple for those studying plant and soil sciences relating to turfgrass management ... This new book includes greatly expanded sections on the basics of salt-affected sites, soil and water testing, soil chemistry and physical properties, plant responses, site management and reclamation. ... What could be a very densely written book packed with jargon is a reference that is a good combination of technical information and practical application. This makes the text usable by scientists in turfgrass management and practitioners in the field."
―Paul G. Johnson, Vadose Zone Journal, November 2012

"Using the ‘best management practices’ (BMP5) concept, their new book examines the complex issues around salinity management. presenting comprehensive scientific principles and detailing practical management and assessment recommendations for turfgrass and landscape sites. Their overriding message is that there is no ‘silver bullet’ amendment, treatment, or grass tor salinity management and that only a holistic BMPs approach will be successful and sustainable."
― AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS, December 2011

The complex issues involved in the management of saline and sodic turfgrass soils are enough to perplex even the most experienced site manager ― there is no "silver bullet" amendment, treatment, or grass for salinity management. Best Management Practices for Saline and Sodic Turfgrass Soils: Assessment and Reclamation presents comprehensive scientific principles and detailed, practical management and assessment recommendations for turfgrass and landscape sites.

The authors use the Best Management Practices (BMPs) concept, considered the gold-standard management approach for any individual environmental issue, since it is a whole ecosystem (holistic), science-based salinity management approach that allows all possible management options to be considered and implemented on a site-specific basis. They identify BMP strategies, including irrigation system design; irrigation scheduling and salinity leaching; chemical, physical, and biological amendments; cultivation; topdressing; soil modification; sand-capping; surface and subsurface drainage options; nutritional practices; additional cultural practices; and ongoing monitoring. The book presents emerging challenges, technology, and concepts that address integration of salinity management into comprehensive site environmental or sustainable management systems, use of halophytic turfgrasses for non-traditional purposes, integration of geospatial and geostatistical concepts and technology, and integration of new sensor technology into daily management paradigms.

Outlining a holistic BMP approach, the book incorporates scientific principles and practical management recommendations and details specific salinity challenges and the logic behind each BMP strategy for salinity management, with an emphasis on actual field problems. The book is formatted for flexible use, with stand-alone chapters that include outlines for quick review of a topic for those requiring only a basic understanding as well as in-depth discussions of the science and practical aspects for those seeking a more rigorous treatment. It supplies a single source for all the information required to identify and manage diverse types of salinity stresses.