@article{fdi:010057334,
  title = {{S}oil fertility concepts over the past two centuries : the importance attributed to soil organic matter in developed and developing countries},
  author = {{F}eller, {C}hristian and {B}lanchart, {E}ric and {B}ernoux, {M}artial and {L}al, {R}. and {M}anlay, {R}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he theories about plant nutrition and soil fertility varied widely from the antiquity to the middle of the nineteenth century, with major ({T}haer {A}. 1809. {G}rundsatze der rationellen {L}andwirtschaft (1809-1812). {B}erlin ({G}ermany): {R}ealschulbuch {E}d.) or minor ({L}iebig {J}. 1840. {D}ie organische {C}hemie in ihrer {A}nwendung auf {A}grikultur und {P}hysiologie. {B}raunschweig ({G}ermany): {V}ieweg) importance attributed to soil humus or soil organic matter ({SOM}). {T}he importance assigned to humus over the past two centuries will be developed in this historical paper. {I}ntensification of agriculture in the twentieth century permitted an important increase in cultivated plant yield of food, fiber, wood, and biofuel production, not only in the northern countries, but also in some southern countries (e.g., {I}ndia and {C}hina) with the emergence of the {G}reen {R}evolution. {H}owever, the question of organic restitutions and the maintenance (or increase) of the {SOM} stock was, at times, not taken into consideration; consequently, there was a general decrease in {SOM} stock for many tropical soils. {I}t is now widely accepted by scientists that {SOM} depletion is one of the major factors leading to degradation of ecosystem services and loss of ecosystem resilience: new alternatives are now necessary for the maintenance and/or increase in plant productivity and production of environmental services by agriculture. {T}herefore, this paper will also present some recent research in different tropical countries with a focus on agroecological management of tropical soils.},
  keywords = {soil fertility history ; soil fertility concepts ; soil organic matter ; ecosystem services},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{A}rchives of {A}gronomy and {S}oil {S}cience},
  volume = {58},
  numero = {1},
  pages = {{S}3--{S}21},
  ISSN = {0365-0340},
  year = {2012},
  DOI = {10.1080/03650340.2012.693598},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010057334},
}