Shifting Ground: The Changing Agricultural Soils of China and Indonesia. By Peter H. Lindert. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2000. Pp. 351. $45.00.

Abstract

This book addresses the basic issue of human-induced soil degradation. It attempts to resolve several debatable issues, such as: (i) Is accelerated soil erosion the dominant factor responsible for soil degradation? (ii) Does agricultural intensification improve soil quality? (iii) Does increased fertilizer use compensate for low levels of soil organic matter and nitrogen contents? (iv) Does increase in farm income enhance soil quality? (v) Is urban encroachment a principal cause of farmland depletion? (vi) Is soil degradation accelerating? and (vii) Are human activities responsible for exacerbating soil degradation? The author addresses these questions objectively and bases his conclusions on the historical data regarding temporal changes in quality of agricultural soils in China and Indonesia.