Biological remediation methods have been successfully used to treat polluted soils. While bacteria have produced good results in bioremediation for quite some time now, the use of fungi to decontaminate soils has only recently been established.

This volume of Soil Biology discusses the potentials of filamentous fungi in bioremediation. Fungi suitable for degradation, as well as genetically modified organisms, their biochemistry, enzymology, and practical applications are described. Chapters include topics such as pesticide removal, fungal wood decay processes, remediation of soils contaminated with heavy and radioactive metals, of paper and cardboard industrial wastes, and of petroleum pollutants.

Worldwide demand for sand and gravel is increasing daily, as the need for these materials continues to rise, for example in the construction sector, in land filling and for transportation sector based infrastructural projects. This results in over-extraction of sand from channel beds, and hampers the natural renewal of sediment, geological setup and morphological processes of the riverine system. In India, illegal sand mining (of alluvial channels) and gravel mining (of perennial channels) are two anthropogenic issues that negatively affect the sustainable drainage system. Along the Kangsabati River in India, the consequences of sand mining are very serious. The construction of Mukutmonipur Dam (1958) on the river causes huge sediment deposition along the middle and downstream areas, these same areas are also intensely mined for sand (instream and on the flood plain). Geospatial models are applied in order to better understand the state and the resilience of stream hydraulics, morphological and river ecosystem variables during pre-mining and post-mining stages, using micro-level datasets of the Kangsabati River. The book also includes practicable measures to minimize the environmental consequences of instream mining in respect to optimum sand mining. It discusses the threshold limits of each variable in stream hydraulics, morphological and river ecological regime, and also discusses the most affected variables. Consequently, all outputs will be very useful for students, researchers, academicians, decision makers and practitioners and will facilitate applying these techniques to create models for other river basins.

Communication is defined as an interaction between at least two living agents which share a repertoire of signs. These are combined according to syntactic, semantic and context-dependent, pragmatic rules in order to coordinate behavior. This volume deals with the important roles of soil bacteria in parasitic and symbiotic interactions with viruses, plants, animals and fungi. Starting with a general overview of the key levels of communication between bacteria, further reviews examine the various aspects of intracellular as well as intercellular biocommunication between soil microorganisms. This includes the various levels of biocommunication between phages and bacteria, between soil algae and bacteria, and between bacteria, fungi and plants in the rhizosphere, the role of plasmids and transposons, horizontal gene transfer, quorum sensing and quorum quenching, bacterial-host cohabitation, phage-mediated genetic exchange and soil viral ecology.

Dokuchaev carried out most of his research in Ukraine. His student and friend, Volodymyr Vernadsky, went on to create trans-disciplinary environmental sciences and the concept of Earth as a living organism, famously taken up by James Lovelock. That spring of ideas still flows and the researches captured in this volume are relevant to present-day problems, and not only in Ukraine. Soils have always been under stress but, in the Anthropocene, mankind is in the driving seat. As a sequel to Soil Science Working for a Living: Applications of soil science to present-day problems, we consider issues of policy as well as soil genesis, attributes and functions in various environments, natural and man-made. We consider human impacts on the soil cover through its use and misuse, highlight methods of research and assessment of soil quality, and the threats of soil degradation. The distinguished contributors also describe and propose various options for evaluation and remediation of degraded soils, drawing on the latest methods of modelling and cartography as well as long-term field experiments and long experience. The book will be invaluable to researchers and practitioners in soil science including graduate and post-graduate education, academics and professionals.

This book describes recent developments in soil liquefaction engineering and introduces more appropriate procedures than the current ones to evaluate triggering and consequences of soil liquefaction during earthquakes. The topics therefore cover all aspects of soil behaviour following liquefaction during earthquakes. The contents start with new approaches and new findings on characterisation of liquefaction resistance and undrained shear strength of fully saturated, partially saturated, and unsaturated sand, which are fully based on laboratory tests. New approaches and findings are then described on the use of in situ sounding tests for characterising triggering and consequences of soil liquefaction, including post-liquefaction settlement, lateral spreading, and stability against flow slide. All the topics are accompanied by illustrative case history data from recent major earthquakes in Japan.

Short Blurb (350 characters): Sand dunes are common aeolian landforms and are found on over ~40% of the Earth’s land surface. Distribution and characteristics of sand dunes in the northern hemisphere are the major focus. Standard Blurb (700 characters): Sand dunes are common aeolian landforms and are found on over ~40% of the Earth’s land surface. Distribution and characteristics of sand dunes in the northern hemisphere are the major focus. Practical advice on how to deal with migrating dunes and a description of proven practices are presented. The application of recently available high-resolution satellite data for mapping and change detection and a summary of advances in techniques for characterizing the mineralogy of sand is explained. The target audience of this book will be those working in the fields of arid land studies, geoinformatics, social sciences, and landscape ecology. Key Features: • Present a synthesis of past work, 'connect the dots' so that the work of physical geographers, geomorphologists, physicists and climatologists, hydrologists, and related fields can be made available within one book. • Exhaustively reviews the key recent research on the typology, distribution, formation and current status of sand dunes • Provides a synoptic overview of the current problems and prospects for controlling migrating sand dunes that threaten infrastructure, and encroaches on agricultural land and urban areas. • Demonstrates the utility of new advanced monitoring techniques such as high-resolution satellite imagery and specialized laboratory equipment to study the mineralogy and structure of dune sands

Increasing awareness of the irreversible and long-lasting impacts of deterioration and pollution of soils and sediments has had an important influence on environmental policies and research in the last decade. The complexity of the soil and sediment systems and its processes cannot be tackled properly unless scientists from different disciplines work together. With this in mind, a number of multidisciplinary soil research programmes have been started in various European countries. They involve different disciplinary approaches and they aim at different fields of application: agriculture, land use and town and country planning, drinking water supply, nature management. The results that are now appearing need to be integrated in a scientifically sound and useful way. The first European Conference on Integrated Research for Soil and Sediment Protection and Remediation was intended to foster this. The volume contains the edited and selected proceedings of this Conference.

This book provides a didactic overview of techniques for inferring information from soil spectroscopic data, and the codes in the R programming language for performing such analyses. It is intended for students, researchers and practitioners looking to infer soil information from spectroscopic data, focusing mainly on, but not restricted to, the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Little prior knowledge of the R programming language or digital soil spectra is required. We work through the steps to process spectroscopic data systematically.

This book presents an exploration of linkages among soil-water, agriculture, and climate change with a special focus on thematic areas for assessment, mitigation, and management of natural resources under climate change conditions. This book covers advances in modelling approaches, including machine learning (ML)/ artificial intelligence (AI) applications; GIS and remote sensing; sensors; impacts of climate change on agriculture; subsurface water; contaminants; and socio-economic impacts, which are lacking in a more comprehensive manner in the previous titles. This book encompasses updated information as well as future directions for researchers working in the field of management of natural resources. The goal of this book is to provide scientific evidence to researchers and policymakers and end-to-end value chain practitioners which may help in reducing the overall adverse impacts of climate change on water resources and the related mitigation strategies. This book focuses on the knowledge, modern tools, and techniques, i.e., machine learning, artificial intelligence, etc. for soil-water, agriculture, and climate change. Further, nature-based solutions for management of natural resources with special targets on contaminants, extreme events, disturbances, etc. will be targeted. The book provides readers with the enhanced knowledge for application of engineering principles and economic and regulatory constraints to determine a soil-water, agriculture production action strategy, and select appropriate technologies to implement the strategy for a given data set at a site. It would also cover the application of laboratory, modeling, numerical methods for determination and forecasting of climate change impacts, agriculture production, pollution, soil health, etc. Overall, it provides hydrologists, environmental engineers, administrators, policy makers, consultants, and industrial experts with essential support in effective management of soils health, agricultural productions, and mitigation of extreme climatic events.

This book analyzes the formation and evolution of the giant hydrocarbon reservoirs based on major basins onshore China. It discusses exploration and research advantages of major basins in China, such as Sichuan, Tarim, and Ordos Basins and also systematically analyzes and summarizes the formation conditions, distribution rules, and main controlling factors of deep oil and gas fields. On this basis, it forecasts the exploration prospect of China's onshore deep oil and gas, providing theoretical guidance and technical support for deep oil and gas exploration breakthrough and large-scale reserves growth. This book focuses on the analysis and discussion of hydrocarbon generation mechanism of deep-paleo source rocks, discusses the accumulation rules of cross-structural reservoir formation and oil-gas enrichment in ancient strata, the combination of gypsum-salt rocks and carbonate rocks, the potential of oil and gas accumulation under salt, the main controlling factors and distribution rules of deep oil and gas fields, and preliminarily grasps the geological understanding of the formation and distribution of deep-large oil and gas fields, namely 1abundant hydrocarbon supplied by two types of source kitchens, 2three large-scale lithologic reservoir rocks, 3hydrocarbon accumulation controlled by three paleoes (paleouplift, paleoplatform margin, and paleofaults), and 4reservoir formation across major tectonic periods. The book serves as a guidance for both researchers and students majoring in petroleum geology and other related fields.

Soil is an important but often neglected element of the climate system. It is the second largest carbon store, or 'sink', after the oceans. Despite being a fundamental resource that supports all kinds of life on Earth, concerns related to soil are often not included as an important environmental issue. Climate changes put soil under pressure. The increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere may cause the microbes in the soil to work faster to break down organic matter, potentially releasing even more carbon dioxide. The soil moisture content is being constantly affected by rising temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns and future projections show that this may continue. This book presents current environmental issues and their remedies for soil which are mainly based on soil degradation, soil pollution and the effect of climate change on the soil. Adding xenobiotic chemicals or other alterations in the natural soil environment for agricultural, industrial or urban purposes result in a decline in the soil quality due to improper use or poor management, which is a serious environmental problem. The book is divided into five parts - soil science, soil physics, soil chemistry, soil biology and soil environment. The first part "Soil Science" serves as the introduction to the book and discusses some common topics such as soil formation, mineralogy, taxonomy, quality and analytical techniques. The second part "Soil Physics" is mainly concerned with the physical properties and processes of soil and their association with effects on air, water and temperature. Soil Chemistry, the third part, discusses the chemical reactions and processes between inorganic and organic components. The fourth part "Soil Biology" explains the biological properties and processes of the soil, with special concern to microbial diversity and its effect on the ecology. Lastly, the fifth part "Soil Environment" discusses the current environmental problems such as climate change and soil pollution, including processes to mitigate these issues through carbon sequestration, nutrient management and land management.

This book deals with a rapidly growing field aiming at producing food and energy in a sustainable way for humans and their children. It 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 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 proposes 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.

Knowledge of the principles and methods of petroleum sedimentology is essential for oil and gas exploration and exploitation. This book is designed as an introductory text for students in petroleum geology and applied sedimentology as well as a useful companion for advanced technicians, explorationists, geophysicists and petroleum engineers. Source rock, lithology and type of trap define the quality of a hydrocarbon accumulation. This interrelationship is exemplified by seven case histories worldwide (NW Europe, Saudi Arabia, U.S.A., Mexico, CIS, China). Moreover, successful exploitation and enhanced oil recovery often depend on an adequate knowledge of the sedimentology of a reservoir. Photographs illustrate macroscopic and microscopic aspects of source rocks as well as reservoir sandstones and limestones that are most important for hydrocarbon exploration. A comprehensive list of references encourages further study.

This book consists of papers presented at a symposium "PLANT-INDUCED SOIL CHANGES: PROCESSES AND FEEDBACKS" that was held during the American Society of Agronomy-Soil Science Society of America Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, November 4-8, 1996. The papers were also pub of Biogeochemistry (Vol. 42, nos. 1 and 2, 1998). The lished in a special issue symposium was built on the growing realisation that plant-induced changes in soil feed back in various ways to natural vegetations, giving rise to a plethora of plant-soil interactions beyond the classical one-way cause-and-effect pathways plant-to-soil and soil-to-plant. The aim of this special issue is not in the first place to present new research findings, but to review and discuss the more holistic aspects of plant-soil interactions, providing more room for speculation than do most collections of research papers. After a general introduction which emphasises ecological and evolutionary aspects of plant-soil interac ions (van Breemen and Finzi), three papers deal with particular effects of plants on soil properties: mineralogy (Kelly et al. ), soil structure (Angers and Caron) and soil fertility (Berendse). Next, five papers take up plant-soil interactions in specific biomes: forests (Binkley and Giardina; Gobran et al. ), grasslands (Burke et al.; Epstein et al. ) and deserts (Schlesinger and Pilmanis). Two papers discuss plant-soil interactions via effects of differences in litter quality in specific ecosystems: California's pygmy forest (Northup et al. ) and the Alaskan Taiga (Schimel et al. )."

This book provides a world-wide perspective of submarine mass movements and their consequences. This book is of interest to any researcher in the field of marine and coastal geo-hazards. It will be useful for planners, scientists and engineers involved in the development of offshore and near-shore resources and also to those in charge of the management and mitigation of coastal hazards. For graduate students, this book provides an up-to-date vision of the process of submarine mass movements and their consequences from both a scientific and an engineering standpoint, and it includes a unique collection of the existing literature on marine geo-hazards. This volume contains a DVD-Rom with full colour versions of figures which are printed in black-and-white in the book.

This book focuses on drylands such as arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas where they form the main part of ecosystems, e.g., in Iran, but also around the world. Mismanagement and improper exploitation of these areas lead to more degradation day by day. Besides an introduction to the role and importance of vegetation cover in conserving soil against wind and water erosion, this book gives a scope of appropriate techniques and methods for vegetation establishment and maintenance, indicators for suitable plants selection for soil conservation, and soil erosion prevention and combat. It provides methods of soil erosion prevention and combating through the application of plants, using bioengineering systems for soil erosion control and the role of agroforestry in soil erosion prevention. This book can be helpful to those with an interest in countries with similar climates to Iran. In particular, this includes Dubai, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge on the fate and interaction of pharmaceuticals in soil-crop systems. It addresses the principles of their transport, uptake and metabolism and reviews methodologies for their analytical determination. It also discusses ecotoxicological effects arising from their presence and highlights bioremediation approaches for their removal. The use of treated wastewater to irrigate crops is becoming more widespread in regions where freshwater is limited. This practice conserves freshwater resources and contributes to nutrient recycling. However, concerns remain regarding the safety of irrigation with treated wastewater since it contains residues of pharmaceuticals that have survived treatment, which means that soil and fauna are potentially exposed to these xenobiotics. Various pathways govern the fate of pharmaceuticals in crop-soil systems, including soil degradation; formation of non-extractable residues; uptake by soil-dwelling organisms (e.g. earthworms); and uptake, transport, and metabolism in agricultural crops. Investigations into these aspects have only recently been initiated, and there is still a long way to go before a meaningful assessment of the impact of wastewater has been completed.

Inland sand dunes are widespread in North America and are found from the North Slope of Alaska to the Sonoran Desert in northern Mexico and from the Delmarva Peninsula in the east to Southern California in the west. In this edited book, we highlight recent research on areas of inland dunes that span a range from those that are actively accumulating in current conditions of climate and sediment supply to those that were formed in past conditions and are now degraded relict systems. This book will be of interest to researchers and scholars of physical geography, geomorphology, environmental sciences, and earth sciences. Contributions include detailed analyses of individual active dune systems at White Sands, New Mexico; Great Sand Dunes, Colorado; and the Laurentian Great Lakes; as well as the vegetation-stabilized dunes of the Nebraska Sand Hills and the Colorado Plateau. Additional chapters discuss the widespread partially vegetated dune systems of the central and southern Great Plains; the relict dunes of the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the eastern USA; and active and stabilized dunes of the Colorado Plateau and the southwestern deserts of the USA and northern Mexico.

This book provides the first comprehensive overview of saline and alkaline soils in Latin America, known for having one of the most extensive surface of salt-affected soils in the world. It is organized along two main axes: soils and vegetation. The book discusses the occurrence of such soils in the region, focusing mainly in management strategies for their sustainable use, and it presents accounts of natural vegetation and crops in the various environments of the region. Social impacts of such conditions and ongoing projects to overcome them are considered. Likewise, the book highlights physiological mechanisms that are responsible for the negative effects these soils exert on crops and forest resources and determine vegetation distribution in them. Plant breeding challenges and new perspectives for such environments are discussed. Technologies such as irrigation and drainage are included. The readership includes soil and plant scientists, as well as policy makers.

This book presents an overview of the fluvial processes theory developed in the former USSR at Lomonosov Moscow State University for the last 50 years, following the famous manuscript by Professor Makkaveev in 1955. Even being published solely in the Russian language, the theory and the author of the book, Prof. Roman Chalov, are well known in the World. This book consolidates for the first time in English, Chalov's work for the global audience. The book demonstrates how principles from fluvial geomorphology and hydrology are used to develop an ecosystem approach to river analysis and management. Despite a strong tradition in fluvial geomorphology work in the USSR, unfortunately, little has been made of insights provided on the international stage. The fluvial processes theory accepted in USSR was somewhat isolated during the long period of development from the English-language literature. The studied rivers are mostly located in Northern Eurasia and much different from those described in classical English-language works. Chalov allows the readers to interconnect two Worlds in Geomorphology, building bridges between the classical international geomorphology and the equally in-depth and thorough but isolated research in the USSR.

The Discovery of the calcareous Ioffe Drift in the SW Atlantic in 2010 opens new perspectives in the contourite theory. Although demonstrating similar behavior relative to bottom water dynamics, rather rare and poorly studied calcareous contourites differ from their terrigenous analogs in origin, grain-size distribution, chemical and mineral composition of sedimentary particles. The detailed multidisciplinary study of the Ioffe Drift produces new knowledge on biogenic contourites deposited in pelagic realm, in conditions of low biological productivity and terrigenous material supply, under the influence of the Antarctic Bottom Water flow from the Vema Channel. The major intervals of prevailing erosion are inferred on the drift from 2.51/2.59 to 1.9 Ma and from 1.6 to 0.81 Ma thus indicating strong paleoceanographic changes most likely associated with the reorganization of deep-sea circulation and increased bottom water production in the Southern Ocean during the Early Pleistocene and, in particular, around the Mid-Pleistocene Transition.

This Ph.D. thesis attempts to decipher the closure of the Palaeozoic Palaeo-Asian Ocean along the enigmatic Solonker Suture in East Asia adopting a methodology that integrates geochemical and geochronological data from Palaeozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks in the region. It provides an in-detail but also broad insight into the Palaeozoic to early Mesozoic tectonic evolution of the region, not only pin-pointing the debated location of the Solonker Suture but also the timing of final disappearance of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean during Permian to Early Triassic times. The results have led to propose a tectonic 'soft-collision' model for the amalgamation of the North China Craton and the Mongolian Terranes in northern Asia explaining the general absence of geologic features characteristic for continent-continent collisions such as the occurrence of regional-scale high-grade metamorphic rocks, ophiolite belts and fold-thrust structures. This new model may serve as a blueprint for the tectonic evolution of similar suture zones that are characterized by the absence of typical collision related lithologies and structures. The thesis is particularly useful as a guide for researchers who seek an in-depth understanding of the Palaeozoic to early Mesozoic tectonic evolution of northern China and Central Asia along the Solonker Suture.

The depletion of land resources is one of the greatest challenges for mankind in this millennium. Shrinking land resources, weather aberrations, deterioration of land quality, and the globalization and liberalization of market economies have become intertwined to influence the sustainable management of land resources and land use plans. This important volume, Sustainable Management of Land Resources: An Indian Perspective, addresses these challenges. This comprehensive volume, covering important research, much of it gathered with the use of new technology, tools, and applications, is organized into four sections: (add bullets) land resource inventory and characterization geospatial technologies in land resource mapping and management soil nutrient status and management land use planning and livelihood security The volume looks at how scientists translate their knowledge and experience in sustainable land resources and management into implementable policy decisions, with a particular focus on India. Since India is an agrarian economy, the land resources assume a very critical role affecting the livelihood of a vast majority of populace in the country. The information gathered-and the methods by which it is gathered-is applicable globally. This comprehensive publication will be highly useful for the researchers, academicians, extension workers, policymakers, planners, officials of land resources survey, planning and management institutions/agencies/departments, and others.

This book provides a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the morphodynamic process of the Changjiang River from upstream to estuary in the Anthropocene. As the longest river in China, the Changjiang River has nurtured Chinese civilization with ample natural resources for thousands of years. Evidence highlights that the Changjiang River has experienced intensive human interference and indicated dramatic changes in the Anthropocene, including "no flood in flood season, no dry in dry season" in discharge; "less flood in flood season, more dry in dry season" in sediment; riverbed shifts from accretion to erosion; lakes in the middle-lower reach turn from sediment sink to source; estuarine tidal flat exhibits self-organization characteristics and maintains the current accretion state; estuarine branches that connect to the sea show district morphodynamic patterns; and depocenters of the submerged delta indicate periodic shifts. The book stresses that dam construction upstream, practically the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydraulic engineering project, has significant influences on the hydrology and geomorphology of the middle-lower reach but has a slight effect on estuarine delta development. The geomorphological structure of the estuarine channel is dominated by local land reclamation, navigation, and dredging. This book clarifies the river-estuary morphodynamics of the Changjiang River and indicates the general features of global mega rivers under human interference as well as their own response mechanisms. This book also exhibits the potential risk of river-estuary deltas in the future, as both material and dynamics are experiencing acceleration adjustment.