Soils, invaluable indicators of the nature and history of the physical and human landscape, have strongly influenced the cultural record left to archaeologists. Not only are they primary reservoirs for artifacts, they often encase entire sites. And soil-forming processes in themselves are an important component of site formation, influencing which artifacts, features, and environmental indicators (floral, faunal, and geological) will be destroyed and to what extent and which will be preserved and how well. In this book, Holliday will address each of these issues in terms of fundamentals as well as in field case histories from all over the world. The focus will be on principles of soil geomorphology, soil stratigraphy, and soil chemistry and their applications in archaeological research.

In this spirit, the ATMSS International Workshop "Advances in Laboratory Testing & Modelling of Soils and Shales" (Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland; 18-20 January 2017) has been organized to promote the exchange of ideas, experience and state of the art among major experts active in the field of experimental testing and modelling of soils and shales. The Workshop has been organized under the auspices of the Technical Committees TC-101 "Laboratory Testing", TC-106 "Unsaturated Soils" and TC-308 "Energy Geotechnics" of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. This volume contains the invited keynote and feature lectures, as well as the papers that have been presented at the Workshop. The topics of the lectures and papers cover a wide range of theoretical and experimental research, including unsaturated behaviour of soils and shales, multiphysical testing of geomaterials, hydro-mechanical behaviour of shales and stiff clays, the geomechanical behaviour of the Opalinus Clay shale, advanced laboratory testing for site characterization and in-situ applications, and soil - structure interactions.

This book offers extensive information on the course of sedimentation in the Proterozoic Vindhyan Basin and the potential record of ancient life stored within the rocks. It covers topics ranging from facies analysis to sequence-building, from carbonates to siliciclastics, and mixed lithology and life records from microbial to potentially eukaryotes, along with the basin evolutionary history. Further, the book includes 75 color photographs and accompanying hand-sketches to help readers grasp key aspects of Vindhyan Geology. Vindhyan rocks are well known for their excellent preservation of microbial record of earth. Offering a student-friendly field guide containing detailed route maps, geological maps and a wealth of visual examples, it is also extremely useful in terms of understanding the microbe-dominated environments on Mars.

Silicon (Si) plays a significant role in the resistance of plants to multiple stresses including biotic and abiotic stresses. Silicon is also the only element that does not damage plants when accumulated in excess. However, the contribution of Si to plant growth has been largely ignored due to its universal existence in the earth's crust. From numerous intensive studies on Si, initiated in Japan about 80 years ago, Japanese scientists realized that Si was important for the healthy growth of rice and for stability of rice production. In a worldwide first, silicon was recognized as a valuable fertilizer in Japan. The beneficial effects of Si on rice growth in particular, are largely attributable to the characteristics of a silica gel that is accumulated on the epidermal tissues in rice. These effects are expressed most clearly under high-density cultivation systems with heavy applications of nitrogen. Si is therefore recognized now as an ''agronomically essential element'' in Japan.

Recently, Si has become globally important because it generates resistance in many plants to diseases and pests, and may contribute to reduced rates of application of pesticides and fungicides. Silicon is also now considered as an environment-friendly element. The achievements of Si research in Japan are introduced in this book, in relation to soils, fertilizers and plant nutrition.

Since the publication of "The coconut palm - A monograph" in 1960, considerable information has been accrued on the crop through work at research institutes, international organisations and development agencies. Although coconut cultivation is spread over 93 countries, providing employment and creating livelihood opportunities to 64 million families around the globe, smallholder coconut farmers are now facing numerous challenges. The wide gap between the potential and actual yield is a major concern, and as such it is necessary to disseminate knowledge in order to implement research findings. Coconut research in India, one of the leading coconut producing countries, is celebrating its centenary, making this an opportune time to review the research and development advances and the relevant technologies. This detailed, comprehensive book covers all aspects of coconut, from the origins to cultivation, breeding, physiology and value addition, as well as subjects of topical interest like nutrition and health, biotechnology, and climate change and carbon sequestration. Written by leading experts in the fields it emphasises that the livelihood of the small coconut landholders is the ultimate aim of scientists and developmental agencies, and outlines various important strategies to make coconut farming more remunerative globally. It discusses work in all the major coconut growing countries and outlines suggestions for international cooperation. Research work on the crop is comparatively difficult because of its perennial nature, longevity, height, long juvenile phase, large sized nuts, cross pollination and seed propagation. As these special features necessitate greater investment of resources, time and land, it is all the more imperative that research is not duplicated and the information and experience becoming available around the world is shared so that it can be fully utilised. In this context periodic publications, compiling all the available information on coconut assume greater significance. This book is therefore of great value to researchers, students, extension workers, developmental agencies and progressive farmers.

This is the first book solely devoted to Cryopedology, the study of soils of cold regions. The analysis treats Cryosols as a three-part system (active layer, transition layer, permafrost). The book considers soil-forming factors, cryogenic processes, and classification and distribution of Cryosols. Cryosols of the Arctic, Antarctica, and the high mountains are considered in detail. The chapters address cryosols and earth-system science, cryosols in a changing climate, cryosols databases and their use, and management of cryosols. The book is rich in color photographs and highlights the author's 43 field trips to Antarctica, the Arctic, and alpine areas.

The study of soil nitrogen has long been an active field, but it was generally pivoted on agricultural and forestry production, and animal husbandry. With the rapid increase in the use of fertilizer nitrogen, more attention has been paid to the relationship between nitrogen management and environmental quality and human health. In addition, the study of soil nitrogen has become more comprehensive with the development of related sciences. The quantitative study of the processes of nitrogen cycling and their interrelationships has been an important part of this project and has attracted the attention of scientists all over the world. Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients for plant growth and the application of fertilizer nitrogen is playing an important role in agricultural production. The annual consumption of fertilizer nitrogen in the world has reached 70 million tons, and China has an annual consumption of more than 15 million tons and is the largest fertilizer nitrogen consumer in the world. However, the efficiency of fertilizer nitrogen is low and losses are large. It is estimated that nitrogen losses from agriculture in China can be as high as 40-60% of the nitrogen applied. Some of the lost nitrogen enters the atmosphere and contributes to the greenhouse effect and some enters water bodies to pollute the water. Consequently, it is important for scientists all over the world to improve the efficiency of use of fertilizer nitrogen, to promote the biological fixation of nitrogen and to increase the nitrogen-supplying potential of soils.

This book summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding antibiotics and antibiotics resistance genes (ARGs) in the soil environment. It covers a wide range of topics to help readers understand antibiotics and ARGs in soils, the risks they pose for the environment, and options for effective control. In addition, it presents a range of essential tools and methodologies that can be used to address antibiotics and ARGs in a consistent, efficient, and cost-effective manner. Gathering contributions by international experts, the book addresses both theoretical aspects and practical applications.The topics discussed include antibiotics-producing microorganisms; the routes of entry and fate of antibiotics and resistance genes; biomonitoring approaches; dissemination of ARGs in soils; risk assessment; the impact of antibiotics and ARGs on the soil microbial community and other biota; bioremediation and biodegradation approaches; and soil management strategies for antibiotics and ARG-contaminated soils.As such, the book will be of interest to students, researchers and scholars in environmental science and engineering, toxicology, the medical and pharmaceutical sciences, environmental biotechnology, soil sciences, microbial ecology and plant biotechnology. Readers and Journals: 1. This new volume on antibiotics and antibiotics resistance genes (ARGs) in the soil environment will be of interest to students, researchers and scholars in environmental science and engineering, toxicology, the medical and pharmaceutical sciences, environmental biotechnology, soil sciences,microbial ecology and plant biotechnology. 2. The book will provide government authorities all over the world with effective strategies for the management of antibiotics and antibiotics resistance genes (ARG)- contaminated soil. 3. Gathering contributions by international experts,the book addresses both theoretical aspects and practical applications.

"The thesis of Philipp Antrett is focused on reservoir properties, petrography, lithofacies and sedimentology, core analysis and nanoporosity studies. It will be of major interest for colleagues involved in the exploration and production of tight gas reservoirs in Northern Europe and elsewhere." - Francois Roure, August 2012 This thesis describes a multidisciplinary, multiscale approach to the analysis of tight gas reservoirs. It focused initially on the facies architecture of a Permian tight gas field in the Southern Permian Basin (SPB), East Frisia, northern Germany. To improve field development, 3D seismic data, wireline and core data were compared to a reservoir analogue in the Panamint Valley, California, United States. In addition to the large scale approach, a work flow that investigates microporosity by combining Scanning Electron Microscopy-Broad Ion Beam (SEM-BIB) and optical microscopy was developed. For a better understanding of the depositional environment and reservoir rock distribution in the SPB, a sedimentary facies analysis of four cores from the tight gas field in East Frisia was compared to a second study area in northern central Germany. This study demonstrates that tight gas exploration and production requires multidisciplinary, multiscale approaches beyond standard seismic interpretation work flows to better understand the temporal and spatial evolution of these complex reservoirs.

In view of the grave consequences of soil degradation on ecosystem functions, food security, biodiversity and human health, this book covers the extent, causes, processes and impacts of global soil degradation, and processes for improvement of degraded soils. Soil conservation measures, including soil amendments, decompaction, mulching, cover cropping, crop rotation, green manuring, contour farming, strip cropping, alley cropping, surface roughening, windbreaks, terracing, sloping agricultural land technology (SALT), dune stabilization, etc., are discussed. Particular emphasis is given to soil pollution and the methods of physical, chemical and biological remediation of polluted soils. This book will lead the reader from the basics to a comprehensive understanding of soil degradation, conservation and remediation.

This book mainly presents the current state of knowledge on the use of of Silicon (Si) in agriculture, including plants, soils and fertilizers. At the same time, it discusses the future interdisciplinary research that will be needed to further our knowledge and potential applications of Si in agriculture and in the environmental sciences in general. As the second most abundant element both on the surface of the Earth's crust and in soils, Si is an agronomically essential or quasi-essential element for improving the yield and quality of crops. Addressing the use of Si in agriculture in both theory and practice, the book is primarily intended for graduate students and researchers in various fields of the agricultural, biological, and environmental sciences, as well as for agronomic and fertilizer industry experts and advisors. Dr. Yongchao Liang is a full professor at the College of Environmental and Resource Sciences of the Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. Dr. Miroslav Nikolic is a research professor at the Institute for Multidisciplinary Research of the University of Belgrade, Serbia. Dr. Richard Belanger is a full professor at the Department of Plant Pathology of the Laval University, Canada and holder of a Canada Research Chair in plant protection. Dr. Haijun Gong is a full professor at College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, China. Dr. Alin Song is an associate professor at Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.

This book provides a timely review of concepts in plant disease management involving microbial soil suppressiveness and organic amendments. Topics discussed include the impact of suppressive soils on plant pathogens and agricultural productivity, the enhancement of soil suppressiveness through the application of compost and the development of disease suppressive soils through agronomic management. Further chapters describe diseases caused by phytopathogens, such as Pythium, Fusarium and Rhizoctonia, interaction of rhizobia with soil suppressiveness factors, biocontrol of plant parasitic nematodes by fungi and soil suppressive microorganisms.

This text details the plant-assisted remediation method, "phytoremediation", which involves the interaction of plant roots and associated rhizospheric microorganisms for the remediation of soil contaminated with high levels of metals, metalloids, fuel and oil hydrocarbons, nano particles, pesticides, solvents, organic compounds and various other contaminants. Many chapters highlight and compare the efficiency and economic advantages of phytoremediation and nano-phytoremediation to currently practiced soil and water treatment practices. Volume 6 of Phytoremediation: Management of Environmental Contaminants continues the series. Taken together, the six volumes provide a broad-based global synopsis of the current applications of phytoremediation using plants and the microbial communities associated with their roots to decontaminate terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Few topics cut across the soil science discipline wider than research on soil carbon. This book contains 48 chapters that focus on novel and exciting aspects of soil carbon research from all over the world. It includes review papers by global leaders in soil carbon research, and the book ends with a list and discussion of global soil carbon research priorities.

Chapters are loosely grouped in four sections:
Soil carbon in space and time
Soil carbon properties and processes
Soil use and carbon management
Soil carbon and the environment

A wide variety of topics is included: soil carbon modelling, measurement, monitoring, microbial dynamics, soil carbon management and 12 chapters focus on national or regional soil carbon stock assessments. The book provides up-to-date information for researchers interested in soil carbon in relation to climate change and to researchers that are interested in soil carbon for the maintenance of soil quality and fertility. Papers in this book were presented at the "IUSS Global Soil C Conference "that was held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA."

"Soil as World Heritage" celebrates a half century of field experiments on the Balti Steppe, in Moldova - where Dokuchaev first described the Typical Chernozem in 1877, protected from the elements by a unique system of shelter belts designed by the great man, and now provisionally listed as the first World Heritage Site for soil. The book presents contributions to the 2012 international symposium attended by researchers, practitioners and policy makers from the European Commission and countries as diverse as Belarus, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA and, of course, Moldova itself.

The experimental data demonstrate the damage caused by human activity to the productivity and integrity of the black earth and, also, ways to restore its fertility. Results from even longer-established trials worldwide also demonstrate that agricultural practices are driving global warming, leaching of nutrients, pollution of water resources, diversion of rainfall away from replenishment of soil and groundwater to destructive runoff, and destroying soil organic matter and biodiversity. These are pressing issues for our generation and will press harder on future generations. Long-term field experiments, and the scientific skills and experience that they nurture, will be more and more valuable as a foundation and focus for interdisciplinary teams studying the effects of farming practices on the soil and soil life so as to devise a sustainable alternative.

Europe-wide and worldwide contributions also discuss economic incentives - carbon and green water credits - which themselves require robust supporting data, and legislative aspects of promoting more sustainable farming systems. The outcomes of the conference include recommendations for institutional support for sustainable farming and a draft of the law on land and soil management for the Parliament of Moldova."

Bioremediation is the use of microorganisms' metabolism to degrade waste contaminants (sewage, domestic, and industrial effluents) into non-toxic or less toxic materials by natural biological processes. Remediation through fungi-or mycoremediation-has multifarious possibilities in applied remediation engineering and the future of environmental sustainability. Fungi have the biochemical and ecological capability to degrade environmental organic chemicals and to decrease the risk associated with metals, semi-metals, noble metals, and radionuclides, either by chemical modification or by manipulating chemical bioavailability. Additionally, the capability of these fungi to form extended mycelia networks, the low specificity of their catabolic enzymes, and their using pollutants as a growth substrate make these fungi well suited for bioremediation processes. Their mycelia exhibit the robustness of adapting to highly limiting environmental conditions often experienced in the presence of persistent pollutants, which makes them more useful compared to other microbes. However, despite dominating the living biomass in soil and being abundant in aquatic ecosystems, fungi have not been exploited for the bioremediation of such environments. This book covers the various types of fungi and associated fungal processes used to clean up waste and wastewaters in contaminated environments and discusses future potential applications.

This multi-contributor, international volume synthesizes contributions from the world's leading soil scientists and ecologists, describing cutting-edge research that provides a basis for the maintenance of soil health and sustainability. The book covers these advances from a unique perspective of examining the ecosystem services produced by soil biota across different scales - from biotic interactions at microscales to communities functioning at regional and global scales. The book leads the user towards an understanding of how the sustainability of soils, biodiversity, and ecosystem services can be maintained and how humans, other animals, and ecosystems are dependent on living soils and ecosystem services.

Dykes occur in a wide variety of geological and tectonic settings and their detailed study through space and time is imperative for understanding several geological events. Dykes are believed to be an integral part of continental rifting and when they occur as spatially extensive swarms of adequate size, they can be of immense utility in continental reconstructions and also help to identify Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs). It is known that continental flood basalts and major dyke swarms have their origin related in some way to the up-rise of hot mantle plumes which may lead to rifting and eventual continental break-up. Dykes signify crustal extension and are important indicators of crustal stabilisation events, supercontinental assembly and dispersal, crust-mantle interaction and play a significant role in the delineation of crustal provinces as well as in deciphering crustal evolution events. Many economic mineral deposits of the world are also associated with a variety of dykes. The volume will provide state-of-the-art information on all aspects of dykes with emphasis on the origin, evolution and emplacement of dykes.

The book provides suitable methods for the simulations of boundary value problems of geotechnical installation processes with reliable prediction for the deformation behavior of structures in static or dynamic interaction with the soil. It summarizes the basic research of a research group from scientists dealing with constitutive relations of soils and their implementations as well as contact element formulations in FE-codes. Numerical and physical experiments are presented providing benchmarks for future developments in this field. Boundary value problems have been formulated and solved with the developed tools in order to show the effectivity of the methods. Parametric studies of geotechnical installation processes in order to identify the governing parameters for the optimization of the process are given in such a way that the findings can be recommended to practice for further use. For many design engineers in practice the assessment of the serviceability of nearby structures due to geotechnical installation processes is a very challenging task. Some hints about possible effects and their consideration are given in this book which may provide a help for such estimations which are still not possible to be given in a satisfactory manner.

In this updated and expanded second edition, new literature has been added on contaminant fate in the soil-subsurface environment. In particular, more data on the behavior of inorganic contaminants and on engineered nanomaterials were included, the latter comprising a group of emerging contaminants that may reach the soil and subsurface zones.

New chapters are devoted to a new perspective of contaminant geochemistry, namely irreversible changes in pristine land and subsurface systems following chemical contamination. Two chapters were added on this topic, focusing attention on the impact of chemical contaminants on the matrix and properties of both liquid and solid phases of soil and subsurface domains. Contaminant impacts on irreversible changes occurring in groundwater are discussed and their irreversible changes on the porous medium solid phase are surveyed. In contrast to the geological time scale controlling natural changes of porous media liquid and solid phases, the time scale associated with chemical pollutant induced changes is far shorter and extends over a human lifetime scale ."

This book presents state-of-the-art scientific evidence and technological innovations to restore lands on the Loess Plateau of China, known worldwide for its serious land degradation and desertification problems. Supported by a rapidly developing Chinese economy and the dissemination of effective technology, the Grain-for-Green Project and Western Development Action launched by the Chinese government have resulted in successful ecological restoration and protection over the past 30 years. These programs have contributed not only to conservation of soil and water, but also to economic development. At the same time, however, these developmental interventions have brought new challenges that have not yet been fully addressed. The book describes (1) case studies of success and failure in practice, including rare success stories of combating desertification; (2) technical issues such as erosion control and breeding of stress-tolerant plant species, and socioeconomic measures taken by the Chinese government and lending policies with support from the World Bank; and (3) comprehensive measures against desertification, such as water and wind erosion, salinization, and deforestation. This volume is recommended for researchers and students above the undergraduate level in diverse fields including soil science, rural engineering, social technology and civil engineering, biology, ecology, climatology, physical and human geography, and developmental economics, among others. It also serves as a valuable resource for engineers, government officials, and NPOs and NGOs involved in afforestation, ecological restoration, combating desertification, disaster prevention, and sustainable rural development.

Ectomycorrhizal fungi play multifunctional roles during symbioses with higher plants. They can serve as bioprotectors, biofertilizers, bioremediators and stress indicators. Further, they are the true "mycoindicators" of forest ecosystems, where an enormous diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi can be found. Some ectomycorrhizal fungi also produce edible sporocarps, i.e., fruiting bodies, which are important for the food industry. Ectomycorrhizal fungi also produce various metal chelating molecules, which are of remarkable biotechnological significance and which also secrete useful secondary metabolites. Molecular approaches are required for the identification and differentiation of fungi forming symbioses with higher plants, while molecular tools are important to understand how genes are expressed during symbiosis with higher plants. Students, researchers and teachers of botany, mycology, microbiology, forestry, and biotechnology will find a valuable source of information in this Soil Biology volume. Content Level Research