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.

A comprehensive book on basic processes of soil C dynamics and the underlying factors and causes which determine the technical and economic potential of soil C sequestration. The book provides information on the dynamics of both inorganic (lithogenic and pedogenic carbonates) and organic C (labile, intermediate and passive). It describes different types of agroecosystems, and lists questions at the end of each chapter to stimulate thinking and promote academic dialogue. Each chapter has a bibliography containing up-to-date references on the current research, and provides the state-of-the-knowledge while also identifying the knowledge gaps for future research. The critical need for restoring C stocks in world soils is discussed in terms of provisioning of essential ecosystem services (food security, carbon sequestration, water quality and renewability, and biodiversity). It is of interest to students, scientists, and policy makers.

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.

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.

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.

The testing of unsaturated soils requires greater care and effort than that of saturated soils. Although unsaturated soil mechanics has been embraced by geotechnical engineering, engineering practice has not yet caught up as the characterization of unsaturated soils is difficult and time-consuming, and made harder still by a lack of standards. Laboratory Tests for Unsaturated Soils collates test procedures to cover all laboratory tests for characterising unsaturated soils. It covers the background, theory, test procedures, and interpretation of test results. Each test procedure is broken down into simple stages and described in detail. The pitfalls of each test and the interpretation of the test results are explained. Test data and calculation methods are given, along with many numerical examples to illustrate the methods of interpretation and to offer the presentation of typical results. The book is especially useful for students and researchers who are new to the field and provides a practical handbook for engineering applications.

This book explores the theory of ecogeomorphic pattern-process linkages, using case studies from Europe, Africa, Australia and North America. Sets forth a research agenda for the emerging field of ecogeomorphology in drylands land-degradation studies.

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.

Proceedings of a Workshop in the EEC Programme of Coordination and Research on Effluents from Livestock

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).

Plant nutrition in greenhouse cultivation differs in many essential aspects from field crops and justified the development of a special publication on this subject. The high productions realised and the specific produce quality requirements ensure high uptakes of nutrients and a careful tuning of the application. The covering with glass or plastic is responsible for specific climatic conditions, which in modern greenhouse can be fully adjusted to the requirements of the crop by automatic climate control. The natural precipitation is excluded, thus, the water has to be applied in greenhouses by artificial irrigation of water from different origin. On thing and another involves that the growing conditions are more or less completely controlled. This especially holds when the crops are grown in substrates.The high uptake of minerals in greenhouses requires high fertilizer additions. The quantities absorbed by many crops are that high, that it is impossible to supply the required quantities of nutrients as a base dressing at once. Therefore, top dressings are common practice and are carried out together with the supply of the irrigation water. Therefore, fertigation is common practice and in greenhouses already for many years. Specific systems have been developed for the application of the right concentrations to keep the level of nutrients in the root environment on the optimum level for the performance of the crop.Beside the management of the nutrient application, greenhouse growers also need a close control on the salt accumulation. This accumulation is closely connected with the quality of the irrigation water. Moreover, also the addition of the fertilizers plays a role in the salt accumulation in the root environment. Therefore, choice of the fertilizers used is important to prevent accumulations of residual salts possibly supplied with the fertilizers. On the other hand, for a number of crops the level of fertilizer supply is not only focussed on the nutrient requirements, but also utilized to realize a certain salt concentration in the irrigation water. In this way the osmotic potential of the soil solution is affected and this characteristic is an important tool for the grower for the regulation of the growth of the crop and the quality of the produce. When the salinity passes certain threshold values, the growth and production of crops is reduced, but the quality of the harvested produce of some crops is improved. Such regulations are very precisely adjusted to the crops grown and to the growing conditions in the greenhouse. Another line is the development of sustainable production methods. For the main subject discussed in this book, namely plant nutrition, methods for an optimum use of fertilizers with a minimum environmental pollution were developed last decennia. In this field the development of the cultivation in substrates offered excellent possibilities for an optimal use of water and nutrients. With this growing method it has been proved that it is possible to grow greenhouse crops without any discharge of minerals to the environment. The conditions required for such cultivation are thoroughly discussed. Moreover, growing in substrates offers suitable opportunities for optimization of yield and quality, because of the adequate control on the conditions in the root environment, like the supply of water and nutrients. However, this requires a perfect management of water and nutrient supply. Not only for the fact that plants are grown in very small rooting volumes and therefore, mistakes with irrigation and fertilizer supply easily will damage the crop, but also for the fact that the fertilizer supply is complicated. For substrate growing it is not enough that some nutrient elements are controlled, like with soil grown crops, but the full packet of nutrients essential for plant growth will be kept in view. This means that the addition of six macro nutrients and at least six micro nutrients will be regulated, with respect to the right concentration and mutual ratios in the irrigation water. Physical and chemical properties of substrates essentially differ and a right use of these properties is necessary for a right interpretation of the nutrient and salinity status. To this purpose the grower is supplied with detailed recommendations developed by the research stations founded in The Netherlands. The horticultural research stations in The Netherlands developed numerous tools to the growers often in cooperation with the horticultural industries and laboratories. An example of such cooperation is the development of soil and substrate testing methods by the research stations. These methods offered excellent possibilities for a frequent control for the salt and nutrient status in the root environment. Together with these methods schedules for interpretation and recommendation were developed and adjusted for computerized information to the growers.
The book contains information about soil testing methods, in relation to a universal interpretation based on the composition of soil solution. Methods for interpretations of tissue tests are supplied. Crop response on salinity and water supply is discussed in relation to fertilizer application. The management of fertilizer addition in relation to analytical data of soil and substrate samples is presented for a wide range of crops grown in greenhouses. The specific requirements in relation with the climatic conditions and the crop grown are discussed.
The management as described is especially focussed on a sustainable production of vegetable and ornamental crops. The water supply, fertilization and the realisation of the osmotic potential in the root environment is focussed on the production of the high quality products required on the consumer market as appeared last decennia in the Western world. Such a market is characterized by diversity, quality and immediate answers to demands of luxurious productions. Greenhouse production

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.

This book describes the geological setting of Iran throughout geological history, referring to paleogeography and general geodynamics. Also, all structural units, faults, tectonic phases and orogeny occurred in the geology of Iran have been evaluated. Magmatic and metamorphic rocks along with ophiolitic complexes have extensive outcrops in Iran, and these rocks with Precambrian age constitute its basement. Study and identification of such rocks not only throws light on the geodynamic issues of Iran but also helps in recognition of the mode of formation and evolution of the sedimentary basins located within various structural divisions of the country. Moreover, the majority of metallic and non-metallic mineral deposits are associated either directly or indirectly with magmatic, and at time metamorphic, rocks. In the Magmatism and Metamorphism parts, it is tried to thoroughly consider the various aspects of the igneous rocks, whether intrusive, extrusive or young volcanoes, from the point of view of petrography, geochemistry and geodynamics. In addition, the major intrusive bodies of Iran have been presented along with their petrologic and chronologic specifications in tables, mentioning the bibliographic resources.

This book summarise advanced knowledge and methods to recycle waste and fertilise soils in agriculture. In the near future, waste recycling will no longer be an option because natural resources become rare and costly, urbanisation is blooming and population is growing. In theory, most waste could be recycled. In practice, most waste is wasted. Remarkable aspects include the concepts of waste hierarchy eco-houses in smart cities, microbes and fungi for plant nutrition, and benefits of legume cultivation, biochar application and agropastoralism.

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 presents selected articles from the workshop on "Challenges in Petrophysical Evaluation and Rock Physics Modeling of Carbonate Reservoirs" held at IIT Bombay in November 2017. The articles included explore the challenges associated with using well-log data, core data analysis, and their integration in the qualitative and quantitative assessment of petrophysical and elastic properties in carbonate reservoirs. The book also discusses the recent trends and advances in the area of research and development of carbonate reservoir characterization, both in industry and academia. Further, it addresses the challenging concept of porosity portioning, which has huge implications for exploration and development success in these complex reservoirs, enabling readers to understand the varying orders of deposition and diagenesis and also to model the flow and elastic properties.

Researchers now recognize that above- and belowground communities are indirectly linked to one another, often by plant-mediated mechanisms. To date, however, there has been no single multi-authored edited volume on the subject. This book remedies that gap, and offers state-of-the art insights into basic and applied research on aboveground-belowground interactions and their functional consequences. Drawing on a diverse pool of global expertise, the authors present diverse approaches that span a range of scales and levels of complexity. The respective chapters provide in-depth information on the current state of research, and outline future prospects in the field of aboveground-belowground community ecology. In particular, the book's goal is to expand readers' knowledge of the evolutionary, community and ecosystem consequences of aboveground-belowground interactions, making it essential reading for all biologists, graduate students and advanced undergraduates working in this rapidly expanding field. It touches on multiple research fields including ecology, botany, zoology, entomology, microbiology and the related applied areas of biodiversity management and conservation.

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 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.