The breadth and depth of understanding of many areas concerning basidiomycetes has increased dramatically since the premier publication of Frankland et al., Decomposer Basidiomycetes: their Biology and Ecology. New vistas have opened up with the advent of powerful computing, modeling and molecular approaches helping to greatly increase the general understanding of the ecology of basidiomycetes. This is tantamount to understanding the role of fungi in natural ecosystems because they are major agents of decomposition and nutrient cycling. These remarkable advances have been incorporated into this volume that discusses all aspects of saprotrophic basidiomycete ecology.

Wood and other structural lignocellulose biomaterials are renewable resources that provide sustainable products that require considerably less energy to manufacture into useable products than other alternatives produced from nonrenewable resources. However, these materials are readily biodegradable and as such must be protected if they are to be used in adverse environments. Consequently, their protection through chemical and nonchemical means plays a vital role in the satisfactory utilization of many products. This publication represents the third ACS book by the three co-editors in a series addressing scientific and practical aspects of biodeterioration and protection of lignocellulose materials. The objective of this third book diverges to some extent from the prior texts, in that it provides an overall view of our current understanding of the microbial and thermal degradation of plant biomass along with new developments in the rapidly changing field of wood protection. The latter is particularly important in light of dramatic changes in copper-based wood preservative systems that are used extensively to treat wood for residential construction, and in the commercial development of lignocellulose modification processes that protect bio-based materials without the addition of biocides. These changes, along with an update on new organic wood preservative systems, factors influencing wood biodeterioration above ground and in soil contact, wood treatment processes, registration and approval processes, applications of molecular biology in wood protection research, and the conversion of biomass into high value carbon products and worldwide trends in wood protection, are covered in this latest ACS book. The individual chapters were authored by a world-class group of academic and industrial scientists in order to provide a state-of-the-art review and global perspective of this rapidly changing field and reviewed by internationally recognized scientist

Wood-destroying fungi play an important role in nature, because they are the only forms of life capable of reducing wood to its initial constituents. However, they can also be dangerous for people and property, as they can impair the stability and fracture-safety of trees. This book gives detailed information, based on new and original scientfic findings, on the examination and effects of the most important species of fungi associated with failure of infected urban trees. In addition, new ways are presented for predicting the advance of decay in the living tree. The subject is illustrated and made easily accessible by numerous colored photos of fungus fruit bodies, defect symptoms, and macroscopic and microscopic pictures of wood decay. A detailed introduction to the fundamentals of wood pathology provides a way into the subjects of applied mycology and tree care for readers without previous special knowledge. Francis W.M.R. Schwarze, National Diploma of Arboriculture at Merrist Wood College, UK (1991), Master of Science in Pure, Applied Plant and Fungal Taxonomy, University of Reading, UK (1992), doctorate at Freiburg University (1995), since 1996 assistant at the Institute for Forest Botany and Tree Physiology at Freiburg University, concentrating on research into wood-destroying fungi and host-fungus interactions. Julia Engels, Diploma Forester at Freiburg University (1995), doctorate on root fungi at Freiburg University (1998). Since 1998 active in tree care and mycology in Luxembourg. Claus Mattheck, born 1947, doctorate in theoretical physics (1973), qualified as lecturer on damage studies at Karlsruhe University (1985), and now teaches there as Professor. Since 1991 he has been an officially appointed and attested expert on tree mechanics and fracture behaviour. Has been awarded numerous prizes for research and publication. Head of the Biomechanics Department at the Karlsruhe Research Centre.

Enzymatic Plastic Degradation, Volume 648 in the Methods in Enzymology series, continues the legacy of this premier serial with chapters authored by leaders in the field. Chapters in this latest release include Evaluating plastic pollution and environmental degradation, Assessment methods for microplastic pollution in the oceans and fresh water, Exploring microbial consortia from various environments for plastic degradation, Characterization of filamentous fungi for attack on synthetic polymers via biological Fenton chemistry, Synthesis of radioactive-labeled nanoplastics for assaying the environmental (microbial) PS degradation, Exploring metagenome for plastic degrading enzymes, Cutinases from thermophilic bacteria (actinomycetes): from identification to functional and structural characterization, and much more. - Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors - Presents the latest release in the Methods in Enzymology series - Covers the latest research and technologies in enzymatic plastic degradation

This volume, unlike the three preceding it, represents the collected papers from an experiment with an "electronic symposium". Co-participators in this symposium included The George Washington University, The Smithsonian Institution, Clark Atlanta University, the Agriculture Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, The University of Georgia, Morris Brown College, Spellman College, Morehouse College, North Carolina State University at Raleigh, The United States Food and Drug Administration, and the Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture among others. This unusual "electronic symposium" concept was developed by members of the Program, Planning and Organizing Committee as an alternative to the more costly convention-type symposium. As before, leading scientists in specific topic areas were invited to participate. Topic Session chairpersons were encouraged to arrange their own method of communication by telephone, electronic mail, or conference call, and report their findings back to the symposium center at The George Washington University. Additional papers were accepted from individuals and laboratories who are actively involved in relevant areas of research and study. Participation was also arranged for internationally established scientists. International authors are represented herein from Nigeria, Italy, Spain, Brazil and Argentina. Our goal was to present a research composite volume that reflected current developments, informed reviews, new and recently developing areas of the present state of knowledge as it relates to these proceeding topics. All of the reports included in this volume have undergone scientific, technical and editorial peer review.