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.

• 1.Near Infrared (NIR) Spectroscopy as a Rapid & Cost-effective Method for Nutrient Analysis of Plant Leaf TissueJeremy Aditya Prananto, Budiman Minasny and Timothy Weaver2. Fate and Transport of Molybdenum in Soils: Kinetic ModelingWenguang Sun and H. Magdi Selim3. Comprehensive Evaluation of Mineral Adsorbents for Phosphate Removal in Agricultural WaterZhe Li and Yuji Arai4. Factors Influencing Elemental Micronutrient Supply from Pasture Systems for Grazing RuminantsP. T. Kao, T. Darch, S. P. McGrath, N. R. Kendall, H. L. Buss, H. Warren and M. R. F. Lee5. Use of Plastic Mulch in Agriculture and Strategies to Mitigate Environmental Concerns for Plastic Pollution and Soil ContaminationFarooq Shah and Wei Wu6. Comparative Assessment of the Risks Associated with use of Manure and Sewage Sludge in Danish AgricultureJakob Magid, Kathrine Eggers Pedersen, Max Hansen, Nina Cedergreen and Kristian Koefoed Brandt