About 20 years ago the emphasis in soil chemistry research switched from studies of problems related to scarcities of plant nutrients to those arising from soil pollutants. The new problems have come about because of the excessive uses of fertilizers, the inputs from farm and industrial wastes, the widespread applications of anthropogenie xenobiotic chemicals, and the deterioration of soil structure resulting from certain modern agriculture practises. The International Society of Soil Science (ISSS) recognized these problems and challenges. A provisional Working Group was set up in 1978 to focus attention on soil colloids with a view to understanding better the interactions wh ich take place at their surfaces. It was recognized that these interactions are fundamental to problems of soil fertility, as weIl as to those of soil pollution. After the group had received the official support of ISSS at its 12th International Congress in New Delhi in 1982 it set as its priority the assembling and evaluation of information, relevant to the soil and environmental sciences, concerning the composition and structure of soil colloids. Prior to that aseries of Position Papers were published in the Bulletin of the International Society of Soil Science (Vol. 61, 1981) outlining the state of knowledge about the composition and properties of soil colloids.

Soil carbon sequestration can play a strategic role in controlling the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere and thereby help mitigate climatic change. There are scientific opportunities to increase the capacity of soils to store carbon and remove it from circulation for longer periods of time. The vast areas of degraded and desertified lands throughout the world offer great potential for the sequestration of very large quantities of carbon. If credits are to be bought and sold for carbon storage, quick and inexpensive instruments and methods will be needed to monitor and verify that carbon is actually being added and maintained in soils. Large-scale soil carbon sequestration projects pose economic and social problems that need to be explored. This book focuses on scientific and implementation issues that need to be addressed in order to advance the discipline of carbon sequestration from theory to reality. The main issues discussed in the book are broad and cover aspects of basic science, monitoring, and implementation. The opportunity to restore productivity of degraded lands through carbon sequestration is examined in detail. This book will be of special interest to professionals in agronomy, soil science, and climatology.

Grain legume crops, e.g. common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), and soyabeans (Glycine max L.) are amongst the main sources of protein in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Their high protein content derive from their ability, in symbiosis with Rhizobium bacteria, to fix atmospheric nitrogen. Incorporating contributions from molecular biologists, microbiologists, plant breeders and soil scientists, this volume reports the results of an FAO/IAEA Co-ordinated Research Programme (1992-1996), whose main objective was to develop molecular biological methods to study rhizobial ecology. Use of better tracking methods will help enhance biological nitrogen fixation and thus grain legume yields, while reducing their reliance on soil- and/or fertilizer-nitrogen. This volume will be invaluable to scientists working on biological nitrogen fixation, soil microbial ecology and legume production.

Human activities have dramatically changed the composition and organisation of soils. Industrial and urban wastes, agricultural application and also mining activities resulted in an increased concentration of heavy metals in soils. How plants and soil microorganisms cope with this situation and the sophisticated techniques developed for survival in contaminated soils is discussed in this volume.

The topics presented include: the general role of heavy metals in biological soil systems; the relation of inorganic and organic pollutions; heavy metal, salt tolerance and combined effects with salinity; effects on abuscular mycorrhizal and on saprophytic soil fungi; heavy metal resistance by streptomycetes; trace element determination of environmental samples; the use of microbiological communities as indicators; phytostabilization of lead polluted sites by native plants; effects of soil earthworms on removal of heavy metals and the remediation of heavy metal contaminated tropical land.

The dissolution of the communist system led to the creation of new states and the formation of new concepts of citizenship in the post-Soviet states of Central and Eastern Europe. The formation of national identity also occurred in the context of the process of increasing economic and political globalisation, particularly the widening of the European Union to include the central European post-socialist and Baltic States. Internationally, Russia sought to establish a new identity either as a European or as a Eurasian society and had to accommodate the interests of a wider Russian Diaspora in the 'near abroad'. This book addresses how domestic elites (regional, political and economic) influenced the formation of national identities and the ways in which citizenship has been defined. A second component considers the external dimensions: the ways in which foreign elites influenced either directly or indirectly the concept of identity and the interaction with internal elites. The essays consider the role of the European Union in attempting to form a European identity. Moreover, the growing internationalisation of economies (privatisation, monetary harmonisation, dependence on trade) also had effects on the kind of 'national identity' sought by the new nation states as well as the defining by them of 'the other'. The collection focuses on the interrelations between social identity, state and citizenship formation, and the role of elites in defining the content of concepts in different post-communist societies. This book was originally published as a special issue of Europe-Asia Studies.

Digital soil assessments and beyond contains papers presented at the 5th Global Workshop on Digital Soil Mapping, held 10-13 April 2012 at the University of Sydney, Australia. The contributions demonstrate the latest developments in digital soil mapping as a discipline with a special focus on the use of map products to drive policy decisions particularly on climate change and food, water and soil security. The workshop and now this resulting publication have better united formerly disparate subdisciplines in soil science: pedology (study of the formation, distribution and potential use of soils) and pedometrics (quantitative and statistical analysis of soil variation in space and time). This book compiles papers covering a range of topics: digital soil assessment, digital soil modelling, operational soil mapping, soil and environmental covariates, soil sampling and monitoring and soil information modelling, artificial intelligence and cyber-infrastructure, and GlobalSoilMap. Digital soil assessments and beyond aims to encourage new mapping incentives and stimulate new ideas to make digital soil mapping practicable from local to national and ultimately global scales.

Tarquin Teale, a sedimentology/stratigraphy postgraduate student at the Royal School of Mines, was killed in a road accident south of Rome on 17 October 1985. Premature death is a form of tragedy which can make havoc of the ordered progress which we try to impose on our lives. As parents, relatives and friends, we all know this, and yet somehow when it touches our own world there is no consolation to be found anywhere. In Tarquin's case the enormity of the loss felt by those of us who knew him can barely be expressed in words. Tarquin had everything which we aspire to. His fellow graduate students envied his dramatic progress in research. We his advisors, in appreciating this progress, marvelled at how refreshingly rare it was to see such precocious talent combined with such a caring, modest and well-balanced personality. He was des tined for the highest honours in geoscience and there is no doubt that he would have lived a life, had he been granted the chance, which would have spread colour, intellectual insight and goodness."

Sustainable agriculture is a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for humans and their children. Sustainable agriculture is a discipline that addresses current issues such as climate change, increasing food and fuel prices, poor-nation starvation, rich-nation obesity, water pollution, soil erosion, fertility loss, pest control, and biodiversity depletion. Novel, environmentally-friendly solutions are proposed based on integrated knowledge from sciences as diverse as agronomy, soil science, molecular biology, chemistry, toxicology, ecology, economy, and social sciences. Indeed, sustainable agriculture decipher mechanisms of processes that occur from the molecular level to the farming system to the global level at time scales ranging from seconds to centuries. For that, scientists use the system approach that involves studying components and interactions of a whole system to address scientific, economic and social issues. In that respect, sustainable agriculture is not a classical, narrow science. Instead of solving problems using the classical painkiller approach that treats only negative impacts, sustainable agriculture treats problem sources. Because most actual society issues are now intertwined, global, and fast-developing, sustainable agriculture will bring solutions to build a safer world. This book series gathers review articles that analyze current agricultural issues and knowledge, then propose alternative solutions. It will therefore help all scientists, decision-makers, professors, farmers and politicians who wish to build a safe agriculture, energy and food system for future generations.

Understanding of the dynamics of plant nutrients in the soil provides scientific basis for efficient nutrient management. Soil organic matter not only provides the nutrients required by the crop but also improve the biological and physical properties of the soil. This book collects and discusses information on production and management of organic manures, biofertilizers, integrated nutrient management in cropping systems and nutrient management in problematic soils. Print and electronic editions not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bhutan).

Traditional reliance on chemical analysis to understand the direction and extent of treatment in a bioremediation process has been found to be inadequate. Whereas the goal of bioremediation is toxicity reduction, few direct, reliable measures of this process are as yet available. Another area of intense discussion is the assessment of market forces contributing to the acceptability of bioremediation. Finally, another important component is a series of lectures and lively exchanges devoted to practical applications of different bioremediation technologies. The range of subjects covers a wide spectrum, encompassing emerging technologies as well as actual, full-scale operations. Examples discussed include landfarming, biopiling, composting, phytoremediation and mycoremediation. Each technology is explored for its utility and capability to provide desired treatment goals.

Advantages and limitations of each technology are discussed. The concept of natural attenuation is also critically evaluated since in some cases where time to remediation is not a significant factor, it may be an alternative to active bioremediation operations.

Rural areas need to fulfil a large variety of functions and to accommodate many activities. The complexity of the problems, limited funds, and the almost irreversible character of some interventions result in a compelling need to evaluate ex ante the effects of alternative solutions for designation of land, for measures to develop infrastructure, and for soil and water management. Scenario studies are undertaken to help manage the complexity, to place bounds on uncertainties, and to create new visions. After an overview of the nature, variety and scope of scenario studies, the book illuminates various European examples and reviews, under the following headings: regional soil and water management; nature development and landscape quality; rural planning and the future of regions.

Metal contamination is an increasing ecological and eco-toxicological risk. Understanding the processes involved in metal mobilization, sorption and mineralization in soils are key features for soil bioremediation.

Following an introduction to the physical, chemical and biological components of contaminated soils, various chapters address the interactions of soil, microorganisms, plants and the water phase necessary to transfer metals into biological systems. These include topics such as potential hazards at mining sites; rare earth elements in biotic and abiotic acidic systems; manganese redox reactions; biomineralisation, uranium in seepage water; metal-resistant streptomycetes; mycorrhiza in re-forestation; metal (hyper)accummulation in plants; microbial metal uptake; and their potential for bioremediation.

This book will be of interest to soil biologists, geologists and chemists, researchers and graduate students, as well as consulting companies and small enterprises involved in bioremediation.

Amazonian soils are almost universally thought of as extremely forbidding. However, it is now clear that complex societies with large, sedentary populations were present for over a millennium before European contact. Associated with these are tracts of anomalously fertile, dark soils termed terra preta or dark earths. These soils are presently an important agricultural resource within Amazonia and provide a model for developing long-term future sustainability of food production in tropical environments. The late Dutch soil scientist Wim Sombroek (1934-2003) was instrumental in bringing the significance of these soils to the attention of the world over four decades ago.

Wim saw not only the possibilities of improving the lives of small holders throughout the world with simple carbon based soil technologies, but was an early proponent of the positive synergies also achieved in regards to carbon sequestration and global climatic change abatement. Wim s vision was to form a multidisciplinary group whose members maintained the ideal of open collaboration toward the attainment of shared goals. Always encouraged and often shaped by Wim, this free association of international scholars termed the Terra Preta Nova Group came together in 2001 and has flourished. This effort has been defined by enormous productivity. Wim who is never far from any of our minds and hearts, would have loved to share the great experience of seeing the fruits of his vision as demonstrated in this volume."

The red soils of China are highly weathered, inherently infertile and very susceptible to erosion. However, they represent China's last available soil resource that could be brought into agricultural production, a fact that assumes great importance in view of China's huge and still-increasing population. These soils are typical of similar red soils that occur throughout tropical and sub-tropical South America, Africa and south east Asia, so that if the red soils of China could be successfully utilized then this would have wider implications for agriculture in other countries. Previous attempts to cultivate Chinese red soils have met with little success and it has become apparent that they cannot sustain arable cropping systems without the most careful management.
This book describes recent research outlining the physical, chemical and mineralogical nature of the soils, the various constraints that combine to inhibit their practical use, and the traditional and novel approaches that may be used to overcome these constraints. Building upon previous work and using examples from other countries, the book illustrates these approaches, shows appropriate land uses for the red soils of China and how the fertility of the soils evolves with time under these land uses. Whether these technical and scientific advances will be taken up by the Chinese farmer will depend to a large extent on the prevailing socio-economic conditions.

This book gives a current overview of all facets of urban soils. Different urban land-use types in a number of examples worldwide are introduced. Many examples in different countries are provided in order to illustrate the situation in detail. The contaminant sources of urban soils (e.g., dust deposition, contamination along roadsides, contamination of floodplains, application of wastewater, anthropogenic deposits) are comprehensively presented. For practical application purposes a key with which to identify technogenic materials during field work is presented. Features like reductomorphic conditions in landfill soils, acidification of coal mining heaps and the impact of physical characteristics such as sealing are taken into consideration in the context of the contamination problem. The mobility of contaminants in the soils under consideration is introduced and discussed. The content of the book, however, is not limited to the description of contaminated urban soils. Different methods of assessment (classification, functional assessment, assessment focused on pathways with reference to standardized exposure scenarios) are introduced. Finally, quality standards for contaminated land in a number of countries are listed, compared and discussed. The book links up the contamination problem of urban soils with geographical aspects such as the historical development of city growth, the process of urbanization and the urban-to-rural gradients. Accordingly, the reader will be able to understand the specific problems of contaminated urban soils and will find sensible approaches to assessment.

Gain a practical understanding of soil properties and the soil management techniques most important for the effective use of soils with SOIL SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT, 6E. This non-technical, reader-friendly book details all aspects of effective soil usage, including management techniques, composition, fertility, erosion, conservation, and irrigation in this practical guide. This edition highlights horticultural uses of soil as well as the latest green methodologies in both agricultural and horticultural practice from the perspective of farmers, horticulturalists, environmentalists and others who are concerned about how soils work and how they can be used most effectively. This edition further examines nutrient management and best practices with the latest updates on legal issues and government programs that make it a useful resource now and invaluable reference for the future

Incorporating contributions from microbiologists, molecular biologists, plant breeders and soil scientists this volume reports the results and recommendations of an FAO/IAEA meeting of twelve experts on biological nitrogen fixation. This volume will be invaluable to scientists working on nitrogen fixation, soil microbiology, agronomy and crop production as well as farm advisers and extension specialists.
Maximising the Use of Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Agriculture is unique in that it:

-reviews the latest thinking on various aspects of biological nitrogen fixation technology and applications;
-reviews the possibilities in enhancing nitrogen fixation in various cropping systems;
-shows ways how biological nitrogen fixation can be used to enhance crop production;
-considers the applicability of these technologies to small farmers in developing countries.

This special volume contains papers that are partly based on contributions to the symposium "Minesite Recultivation" wh ich was held at the Brandenburg Technical University in Cottbus, FRG in lune 1994. Ouring this symposium, various aspects of research into the recultivation of open-cast minesites were discussed. As a prime example, the symposium focussed on the recultivation (reclamation) of post-mining landscapes in the Lusatian lignite mining district of the former German 2 Oemocratic Republic (GOR). In this area, about 700 km have been devastated by open- cast mining during the last 70 years. Therefore, the research into recultivation has a long tradition in Lusatia, going back to the 1930's. Oue [0 the scientific isolation of the former GOR, most of the research results were not available to an international audience until now. This situation holds also true for other eastern countries. Hence, this special volume is a first step to fill this gap. The papers by Pietsch, Heinsdorf, and Katzur and Haubold-Rosar detail the Lusatian lignite mining district presenting an overview of recultivation research results and practical experiences related to the establishment of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in this region after mining. In particular, the amelioration and reforestation of extremely acid, sulfurous mine soils, the fertilization of forest stands under different mine site conditions and the site-specific recolonization and re vegetation strategies are described.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the recent developments in river, coastal and estuarine morphodynamics through a collection of review papers written by well-recognized experts in the field. Apart from geoscientists, it is also of special interest to people involved in fluid mechanics who want to understand near wall turbulence and the effects of coherent structures on the mechanisms of sediment transports. Though aimed at geomorphologists and sedimentologists, the terminology employed in the book makes it generally accessible to engineers, physicists and applied mathematicians at the postgraduate level. The contributions are well-illustrated with splendid pictures of various morphodynamic natural patterns.

Soil degradation is real and global, even if the evidence is not so easy to glean. Degradation poses comparable risks to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and nonhuman animal extinctions. Few have noticed soil degradation as the problem it has become, except most indigenous peoples in their struggles for survival.

This volume provides a comprehensive coverage of the principal extreme soil ecosystems of natural and anthropogenic origin. Extreme soils oppose chemical or physical limits to colonization by most soil organisms and present the microbiologist with exciting opportunities.

Described here are a range of fascinating environments from permafrost to Martian soils. The book includes chapters on basic research in addition to applications in biotechnology and bioremediation.