Advances in Agronomy

DONALD L. SPARKS is the Unidel S. Hallock du Pont Chair and Francis Alison Professor at the University of Delaware. He is internationally recognized for his research in the areas of kinetics of biogeochemical processes and surface chemistry of natural materials. His research has focused on fate and transport of trace metals in soil and water, soil remediation, water quality, and carbon sequestration in soils. Dr. Sparks is the author of two previous editions of Environmental Soil Chemistry and more than 350 refereed papers and book chapters. He is fellow of five scientific societies, and he has been the recipient of major awards and lectureships including the Geochemistry Medal from the American Chemical Society, the Liebig Medal from the International Union of Soil Sciences, the Einstein Professorship from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Philippe Duchaufour Medal from the European Geosciences Union. Dr. Sparks served as president of the Soil Science Society of America and the International Union of Soil Sciences, has served on advisory committees for several national laboratories and national and international centers and institutes, and served as chair of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Committee for Soil Sciences and other NAS Committees.

• Management-Induced Changes to Soil Organic Carbon in China: A Meta-AnalysisXin Zhao, Ran Zhang, Jian-Fu Xue, Chao Pu, Xiang-Qian Zhang, Sheng-Li Liu, Fu Chen, Rattan Lal and Hai-Lin ZhangAdvances and Perspectives to Improve the Phosphorus Availability in Cropping Systems for Agroecological Phosphorus ManagementMichel-Pierre Faucon, David Houben, Jean-Paul Reynoird, Anne-Maïmiti Mercadal-Dulaurent, Romain Armand and Hans LambersUsing Functional Traits to Assess the Services Provided by Cover Plants: A Review of Potentialities in Banana Cropping SystemsGaëlle Damour, Eric Garnier, Marie Laure Navas, Marc Dorel and Jean-Michel RisèdeSoil Biogeochemistry, Plant Physiology and Phytoremediation of Cadmium Contaminated SoilsShanying He, Zhenli He, Xiaoe Yang, Peter J. Stoffella and Virupax C. BaligarBacterial Diseases of Crops: Elucidation of the Factors that Lead to Differences Between Field and Experimental InfectionsJay Ram Lamichhane