And Background --; I. The Nature, Properties, Distribution and Classification of Red Soils in China: Synopsis and Overview --; Nature and Properties of Red Soils of the World --; Distribution and Classification of Red Soils in China --; Mineralogy of Red Soils in Southern China in Relation to Their Development and Charge Characteristics --; Chemical and Physical Characteristics of Red Soils From Zhejiang Province, Southern China --; Rare Earth Element (Ree) Geochemistry During Red Soil Formation in Southern China --; II. Constraints to Crop Production on the Red Soils of China: Synopsis and Overview --; Chemical Soil Constraints to Crop Production on Chinese Red Soils --; Climatic Constraints to Crop Production in the Red Soils Area of Southern China --; Soil Water Holding and Supplying Capacities in the Hilly Red Soils Region Southern China --; Erosion Rates and Crop Productivity on a Red Soil Experimental Site in Yunnan Province --; Soil Fertility Degradation in Eroded Hilly Red Soils of China --; III. Management, Utilization and Sustainability of Red Soils in China: Overview and Synopsis --; Challenges in the Management and Utilization of Red Soils --; Physiological and Genetic Aspects of Crop Plant Adaptation to Elemental Stresses in Acid Soils --; Response of Upland Rice Genotypes to Soil Acidity --; Simulation Research on Water Balance and Optimal Irrigation in Crop Fields in a Hilly Red Soils Region of Southern China --; Acid Tolerance of Some Forage Grasses and Effects of Phosphate, Potassium and Magnesium Application on Their Growth --; Effect of P Fertilizer and Lime Applications on Growth of Annual Ryegrass on Acid Red Soils --; The Development of Sustainable Cropping Systems on Red Soils in the Highlands of South China --; Effects of Land Use on the Chemical and Physical Properties of Red Soils --; Effects of Organic Matter Amendment on Nitrogen Utilization and Transformation in Red Soils Using 15N Tracer Technique --; Effect of Organic Matter Amendment on Uptake of Inorganic P by Ryegrass and Transformation Dynamics of Phosphorus From 32P Labelled Ryegrass in Red Soil --; Effects of Ph on Microbial Biomass -C, and -P in Red Soils --; Effect of Land Use on Microbial Biomass -C, -N and -P in Red Soils --; Dynamics of Substrate Utilization Pattern in Red Soils: An Indicator of Soil Quality Changes --; Soil Acidification Under Tea Bushes and Its Influence on The Biological Characteristics of a Red Soil --; IV. Socio-Economic Aspects of Red Soil Utilization and the Application of New Technologies: Synopsis and Overview --; A Socio-Economic Study of Kelang Village in Yunnan Province in Relation to Uptake by Farmers of Improved Management Practices on Red Soils in China --; Establishment and Application of an Integrated Red Soils Resource Information System (Isirs) for Hilly Ultisols in China --; Integration of a Soil Information System and Optimum Tree Cluster for Agricultural Regionalization --; V. Conclusions.
The red soils of China are highly weathered, inherently infertile and very susceptible to erosion. However, they represent China's last available soil resource that could be brought into agricultural production, a fact that assumes great importance in view of China's huge and still-increasing population. These soils are typical of similar red soils that occur throughout tropical and sub-tropical South America, Africa and south east Asia, so that if the red soils of China could be successfully utilized then this would have wider implications for agriculture in other countries. Previous attempts to cultivate Chinese red soils have met with little success and it has become apparent that they cannot sustain arable cropping systems without the most careful management. This book describes recent research outlining the physical, chemical and mineralogical nature of the soils, the various constraints that combine to inhibit their practical use, and the traditional and novel approaches that may be used to overcome these constraints. Building upon previous work and using examples from other countries, the book illustrates these approaches, shows appropriate land uses for the red soils of China and how the fertility of the soils evolves with time under these land uses. Whether these technical and scientific advances will be taken up by the Chinese farmer will depend to a large extent on the prevailing socio-economic conditions.