  The fundamental problem of Farley-Buneman turbulence in the auroral
$E$-region has been discussed and debated extensively in the past two decades.
In the present paper we intend to clarify the different steps that the auroral
$E$-region plasma has to undergo before reaching a steady state. The
mode-coupling calculation, for Farley-Buneman turbulence, is developed in order
to place it in perspective and to estimate its magnitude relative to the
anomalous effects which arise through the nonlinear wave-particle interaction.
This nonlinear effect, known as nonlinear ``Landau damping'' is due to the
coupling of waves which produces other waves which in turn lose energy to the
bulk of the particles by Landau damping. This leads to a decay of the wave
energy and consequently a heating of the plasma. An equation governing the
evolution of the field spectrum is derived and a physical interpration for each
of its terms is provided.
