Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Fundamentals of Soil Ecology is designed to be a bridge between ecologists and soil scientists of all sorts. There is increasing awareness that soil is the organizing center for all terrestrial ecosystems. This book examines why this is so, in terms of physics, chemistry, and biology of the soil ecosystem. Aspects of biodiversity and global change, and the important role soils play in global carbon balance, are also discussed.
Synopsis
The authors of Fundamentals of Soil Ecology have agreed to revise and expand their book, which was rather short in its first edition. Planned addition of several laboratory exercises, new topics, updated references, and expanded coverage of soil macrofauna will increase the market for this successful volume. Paul Hendrix, a colleague of the authors at Univ. Georgia, will join in the development of this new edition.
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Fitness of the Soil Environment; Primary Production Processes in Soil; Secondary Production: Activities of Heterotrophic Organisms--Microbes; Secondary Production: Activities of Heterotrophic Organisms--The Soil Fauna; Decomposition and Nutrient Cycling; Detritivory and Microbivory in Soils; Future Developments in Soil Ecology; References; Subject Index