Offering an enlightening perspective of the root-soil interface, this collection of electron micrographs demonstrates the dynamic nature of the root surface as cells differentiate, function, and age.

The Soil-Root Interface contains the proceedings of an international symposium held in Oxford, England, on March 28 to 31, 1978. The first five chapters of this book contain the majority of papers presented at the meeting, as well as the descriptions of displayed posters and films. Abstracts of other contributions offered by participants but not read at the meeting form the final chapter. The first five parts cover topics on nutrient demand and supply at the soil root interface; physics and chemistry of the interfacial region; biological activities at the interface; the interface in relation to environmental stress and disease; and the interface in relation to soil function and growth.

Soil is a fundamental and critical component of terrestrial ecosystems, but one that is often overlooked. It is an extremely complex environment, both in terms of its physical structure and in that it supports levels of biodiversity far greater than those found above ground in any ecosystem. Bringing together existing knowledge across many areas of soil biology and physics, this book develops the concept of soil architecture and explores key characteristics of the remarkable `inner space' of the soil. The authors consider how such structure develops through time and the consequences this has for life underground. They also explore the interactions between the biological and physical components of the soil and how they relate to its many functions, in order to demonstrate the key role of soil architecture in underpinning ecosystem dynamics. The diverse but richly interrelated perspectives offered in this book make it an essential resource for researchers and students in soil and environmental sciences, terrestrial ecology, plant sciences and microbiology.

Some pioneers in soil research such as Müller and Kubiëna were as much biologists as they were soil scientists and the legendary biologist Charles Darwin was foresighted in recognizing the earthworms as instrumental in reworking the soil, thereby forming what he called "vegetable mould". Still, soil science has largely been the realm of physicists and chemists over the past decades. Whatever the reason, this picture is rapidly changing. Until recently, research on the transport and transformation of elements in soil was often concerned with either soil biota/plant relationships or with soil structure/plant relationships, if the biota were considered at all, but very few studies explicitly took the interrelationships between soil structure and soil biota into account. The conference on Soil Structure/Soil Biota Interrelationships, held at Wageningen, The Netherlands, 24-28 November 1991, was meant to bridge that gap, focussing on methods of research, organized in three levels: features, processes and effects. The proceedings of the conference are testimony of the need to intertwine the biological, morphological, physical and chemical disciplines in soil research to understand better and forecast soil properties and processes as related to land use for agricultural and other purposes.This book should be of particular interest to soil scientists and ecologists who feel the need for a cross-disciplinary approach in soils research. It should also be a rich source of teaching material for courses in soil science and soil ecology at graduate level and above, with ample reference to studies on land use as related to agriculture and the environment.

First published in 1987 this book looks at root development and functions. Besides affecting the development of roots directly, the physical environment also influences the organisms associated with roots and thus affects their function. The papers presented in this volume pay equal attention to root development and root function in relation to the whole range of environmental factors including temperature, light, water, aeration, gravity and the mechanical strength of the soil. Consideration is also given to the effects of some of these factors on mycorrhizae and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The final chapter reviews some of the main themes raised in the volume and indicates the way that research at the cellular and tissue levels may progress in the future.

This is the first book dedicated to the interactions of non-mycorrhizal microbial endophytes with plant roots. The phenotypes of these interactions can be extremely plastic, depending on environmental factors, nutritional status, genetic disposition and developmental stages of the two partners. This book explores diversity, life history strategies, interactions, applications in agriculture and forestry, methods for isolation, cultivation, and both conventional and molecular methods for identification and detection of these endophytes.

The book addresses current public concern about the adverse effect of agrochemicals and their effect on the agro-ecosystem. This book also aims to satisfy and contribute to the increasing interest in understanding the co-operative activities among microbial populations and their interaction with plants. It contains chapters on a variety of interrelated aspects of plant-microbe interactions with a single theme of stress management and sustainable agriculture. The book will be very useful for students, academicians, researcher working on plant-microbe interaction and also for policy makers involved in food security and sustainable agriculture.

Volume 56 contains six reviews covering key contemporary topics on crop and soil sciences. Three chapters focus on soils: heath and sustainability, phytoremediation of contaminated soils, and sorption by soils. The other three chapters focus upon the control of weeds, the improvement of drought tolerance in plants, and corn and aflatoxins. With this latest volume, Advances in Agronomy continues to be recognized as a prolific and first-rate reference by the scientific community. In 1993 Advances in Agronomy increased its publication frequency to three volumes per year, and will continue this trend as the breadth of agronomic inquiry and knowledge continues to grow. - Soil health and sustainability - Phytoremediation - Biological control of weeds - Organic chemistry of soils - Drought tolerance in plants - Aflatoxins and corn

One of the primary references on analytical methods in soil science, Part 2 of the Methods series will be useful to all biogeoscientists, especially those with an interest in microbiology or bioremediation.

Offers a practical introduction to the various basic methods of assessing the properties of soil. Each method is explained in a concise and accessible manner, providing useful guidance on how each method might be used in a practical situation.