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Books in Soil biology

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Soil Structure/Soil Biota Interrelationships

  • 1st Edition
  • October 22, 2013
  • L. Brussaard + 1 more
  • English
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 9 0 2 8 - 7
Some pioneers in soil research such as Müller and Kubiëna were as much biologists as they were soil scientists and the legendary biologist Charles Darwin was foresighted in recognizing the earthworms as instrumental in reworking the soil, thereby forming what he called "vegetable mould". Still, soil science has largely been the realm of physicists and chemists over the past decades. Whatever the reason, this picture is rapidly changing. Until recently, research on the transport and transformation of elements in soil was often concerned with either soil biota/plant relationships or with soil structure/plant relationships, if the biota were considered at all, but very few studies explicitly took the interrelationships between soil structure and soil biota into account. The conference on Soil Structure/Soil Biota Interrelationships, held at Wageningen, The Netherlands, 24-28 November 1991, was meant to bridge that gap, focussing on methods of research, organized in three levels: features, processes and effects. The proceedings of the conference are testimony of the need to intertwine the biological, morphological, physical and chemical disciplines in soil research to understand better and forecast soil properties and processes as related to land use for agricultural and other purposes.This book should be of particular interest to soil scientists and ecologists who feel the need for a cross-disciplinary approach in soils research. It should also be a rich source of teaching material for courses in soil science and soil ecology at graduate level and above, with ample reference to studies on land use as related to agriculture and the environment.

Diversity of Environmental Biogeochemistry

  • 1st Edition
  • Volume 6
  • October 22, 2013
  • J. Berthelin
  • W.S. Fyfe
  • English
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 9 1 1 1 - 6
Biogeochemistry, still in its formative stage twenty years ago, is now a young, interdisciplinary subfield of earth sciences, life sciences and chemistry. An international scientific association (International Symposia on Environmental Biogeochemistry incorporated - ISEB) was founded to organize international symposia to bring together microbiologists, biologists, chemists, geochemists, soil scientists, oceanographers, ecologists and environmental engineers interested in the biogeochemistry of terrestrial, aquatic and atmospheric environments.After the 8th ISEB held in Nancy, France, this volume was compiled. These fifty selected contributions from specialists of varying backgrounds and interests show the diversity and the common framework of the direct or indirect interactions of living organisms and their abiotic environments.

Basic Elements

  • 1st Edition
  • Volume 5A
  • December 2, 2012
  • Multiple Contributors
  • English
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 8 6 9 7 1 - 1
Developments in Soil Science, 5A: Soil Chemistry: A: Basic Elements focuses on the advancements in the processes, methodologies, principles, and approaches involved in soil chemistry. The selection first elaborates on the composition of the soil, chemical equilibria, and surface interaction between the soil solid phase and the soil solution. Topics include properties of the liquid layer adjacent to the solid phase, influence of the interaction between solid and liquid phase on soil properties, reactions involving the transfer of protons and/or electrons, calculation of equilibrium constants from thermodynamic data, solid phase components, and gas phase. The manuscript then takes a look at the adsorption of cations and anions by soil, common solubility equilibria in soils, and transport and accumulation of soluble soil components. Discussions focus on solute displacement in soil, transport with and in the liquid phase, iron oxides and hydroxides, carbonate equilibria, anion exclusion at negatively charged surfaces, and highly selective adsorption of cations by soil. The text ponders on the pollution of soil, saline and sodic soils, and chemical equilibria and soil formation, including weathering and soil minerals, reverse weathering, sodication of soils upon irrigation, chemical aspects of the reclamation of saline and sodic soils, and recognition and prediction of soil pollution. The selection is a valuable source of data for researchers wanting to study soil chemistry.

Soil Biology

  • 1st Edition
  • November 17, 2012
  • A Burgers
  • English
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 1 4 6 5 8 - 6
Soil Biology brings together the microbiological, botanical, and zoological aspects of soil biology. Leading specialists provide critical reviews and assessments of their particular branches of soil biology, paying particular attention to functional aspects and biotic interrelationships whenever possible. This volume is organized into 17 chapters and begins with an overview of the soil system, emphasizing the system components including the mineral fraction, organic matter, soil moisture, and soil atmosphere. The next chapters focus on microorganisms present in the soil, along with their effects on plant roots. The book also discusses the soil algae, including how algae are affected by physical and chemical environments and their interrelations with other organisms. The remaining chapters look at other organisms that inhabit the soil, including Arthropoda, Collembola, and Mollusca, as well as the probable effects of inhibiting substances upon the biology of soil microorganisms. The final chapters explain the decomposition of organic matter in the soil and the effects of synthetic chemicals on soil microorganisms. This book is a valuable resource for soil biologists and research workers in fields such as botany, agriculture, zoology, and microbiology.

Shrub-Steppe

  • 1st Edition
  • Volume 20
  • November 14, 2012
  • Alec Rickard + 3 more
  • English
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 4 - 5 9 9 5 3 - 7
Owing to man-made intervention, the shrub-steppe now represents a rapidly disappearing landscape in the arid regions of North America. This book represents a systems-level study of ecological variables affecting water balance, and responses to perturbation. The study focused on a very large, protected, landscape unit, comprising a natural ``watershed'' area located in the semi-arid western United States. Long-term and concurrent data sets were established with a view towards establishing system-level responses to manipulative interventions, and natural perturbations like wildfire. These data sets were established for micrometeorology, climatology, mineral cycling in soils, nutrient and mineral pathways in springs and streams, vegetational dynamics, and population changes on the site. In synthesizing nearly twenty years of data, the more interesting ecosystem level responses concerned vegetational recovery and water balance. For instance, the synthesis uniquely demonstrates the interaction of biotic and non-biotic factors and their integrated effect on regional water balance. However, special attention was also paid to species diversity and the genetic resource pool represented at this site.This book will be of primary interest as a reference resource to land managers and wildlife specialists, and as a research study for scientists interested in systems-level ecology. Conservation-minded citizens who take more than a cursory interest in ecology will also find it interesting.

Humus, its Structure and Role in Agriculture and Environment

  • 1st Edition
  • Volume 25
  • November 13, 2012
  • J. Kubát
  • English
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 4 - 5 9 9 5 9 - 9
This volume presents the proceedings of the 10th internationalsymposium Humus et Planta held in Prague in August 19-23,1991. The main topics of this book are devoted to the recentadvances in fundamental, as well as applied research of humicsubstances, the most abundant of the naturally occuringmacromolecules of nature, the understanding of their natureand how they react and interact in their natural environments.Texts are included on the structure, physical and chemicalproperties of humic substances; the relationships among humus,soil properties and fertility; the biotransformations oforganic substances in the soil; the relationships betweenhumic substances and plants and the interactions of humus andxenobiotic substances. This book presents recent knowledge ofthe complicated and challenging humic substances. It will beof interest not only to scientist, but also to Universityteachers and students of agricultural and environmentalsciences.

Soils of arid regions

  • 1st Edition
  • Volume 6
  • September 22, 2011
  • English
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 8 6 9 7 3 - 5

Bauxites

  • 1st Edition
  • Volume 1
  • May 22, 2010
  • Ida Valeton
  • English
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 8 6 9 6 7 - 4

Nitrogen Fixation at the Millennium

  • 1st Edition
  • November 22, 2002
  • G.J. Leigh
  • English
  • Hardback
    9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 4 - 5 0 9 6 5 - 9
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 5 3 7 5 7 - 3
The turn of the millennium from the twentieth to the twenty-first century provides an occasion to review our understanding of a biological process, biological nitrogen fixation, that is of prime importance for the continued survival of mankind. This process has provided a basis for maintaining soil fertility since the beginning of organised agriculture, yet its very existence was confirmed only just over a century ago. In the intervening years, an enormous intellectual effort has dispersed much of the mystery surrounding biological nitrogen fixation. Biological fixation is widely exploited in agriculture, as are nitrogen fertilisers prepared for the last hundred years under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure. However, despite all our efforts, the fundamental nature of the reactions involved at the heart of the biological process remain unknown. This book aims to describe what we have learned in the last one hundred years or so about biological nitrogen fixation, about what its chemistry appears to be, and how it is applied in agriculture. This ambitious objective has not been attempted recently. It is aimed at students and those who wish to enter these very challenging areas of research, and who need to learn the state of the art at the turn of the millennium.The authors are all acknowledged world experts in their fields. They have prepared concise, well referenced and authoritative accounts of their subjects. This book provides a unique summary of the current state of knowledge that will be indispensable to all students and researchers, actual and potential, interested in biological nitrogen fixation.

Invertebrate Biodiversity as Bioindicators of Sustainable Landscapes

  • 1st Edition
  • December 16, 1999
  • Maurizio G. Paoletti
  • English
  • Hardback
    9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 4 - 5 0 0 1 9 - 9
  • eBook
    9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 4 - 5 9 9 6 8 - 1
Reducing environmental hazard and human impact on different ecosystems, with special emphasis on rural landscapes is the main topic of different environmental policies designed in developed countries and needed in most developing countries. This book covers the bioindication approach of rural landscapes and man managed ecosystems including both urbanised and industrialised ones. The main techniques and taxa used for bioindication are considered in detail. Remediation and contamination is faced with diversity, abundance and dominance of biota, mostly invertebrates. Invertebrate Biodiversity as Bioindicators of Sustainable Landscapes provides a basic tool for students and scientists involved in landscape ecology and planning, environmental sciences, landscape remediation and pollution.