This is the first of two volumes that together provide a global overview of the impact of agriculture on soil degradation, tracing the most critical drivers like the use and abuse of agrochemicals, mechanization, overgrazing, irrigation, slash and burn agriculture, and the use of plastics.

This book covers the main effects of agriculture practices on soil degradation in several countries from Africa, America, Asia, and Oceania, and it elucidates the impact of chemical agents on soil quality, namely, the use of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, soil acidification and microplastics pollution. In these continents, a large number of the population depend on agriculture, which sets an enormous pressure on the ecosystems. Divided into 13 chapters, the book offers authoritative contributions about the fundamental soil degradation problems in countries such as Argentina, Australia, Peru and Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, the United States of America. As soil degradation issues are often linked with biodiversity loss and poverty, readers will also find in this book an important discussion of the different social, economic, political, and environmental aspects contributing to soil quality and sustainable management.

Given the breadth and depth of its coverage, the book offers an invaluable source of information for researchers, students, environmental managers and policymakers alike.

Paulo Pereira is a Full Professor at Mykolas Romeris University (Lithuania). He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Barcelona (Spain, 2010). Since 2014 he is the Head of the Environmental Management Laboratory (Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania). In 2015 Professor Pereira was awarded by the Soil System Sciences Division as Outstanding Young Scientist. In 2020 was identified as one of the world's most cited researchers (Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher).In 2021 was elected as a full member of the world's most prestigious scientific research honour society Sigma Xi and recognized as one of the top (1%) researchers writing about soil in the past ten years (2011-2021) according to "Expertscape". In 2021 and 2022, Paulo was listed as amongst the world's 2% top scientists in the field of environmental sciences, according to Elsevier/Stanford University. He published 200+ scientific articles, 50+ book chapters, and edited 6 books as the main editor in the fields of fire and soil degradation. Professor Pereira serves as Associate Editor-in-Chief of the journal Geography and Sustainability, and Associate Editor of The Science of the Total Environment and Heliyon.

Miriam Muñoz-Rojas is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Seville, Spain, and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at UNSW Sydney, Australia. Her research is focused on the conservation and restoration of soils and ecosystems. She is particularly interested in understanding plant-soil-microbe interactions and harnessing novel methodologies, including geo-tools, genomics, metabolomics, and eco-engineering, to promote ecosystem restoration and ensure the provision of key ecosystem services. Dr. Muñoz-Rojas has published over 70 scientific articles in top journals such as Science and Global Change Biology. She is a Commission Chair at the International Union of Soil Sciences and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Applied Ecology and the Journal of Arid Environments.

Igor Bogunovic is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. His main research interests focus on land degradation, soil tillage, soil and water conservation, fertilization, precision agriculture and GIS. He received a National Science Award - Annual Award for Young Researchers in 2017, and the prize from the Faculty of Agriculture for Excellence in Research under the age of 35 (2018). Dr. Bogunovic has published 70+ scientific articles, 8 book chapters, and has also edited a book. Professor Bogunovic is an editorial board member of the journals Geography and Sustainability, Agriculture and Columella - Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Wenwu Zhao is a Full Professor at Beijing Normal University. He received his Ph.D. at the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. His main research areas include: land use and ecological process, soil erosion and land degradation, ecosystem services and sustainability. He has published over 120 papers in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Wenwu serves as Associate Editor-in-Chief of Geography and Sustainability, Chair of IGU Commission on Geography for Future Earth: Coupled Human-Earth Systems for Sustainability.