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This fully revised and expanded edition of Fundamentals of Soil Ecology continues its holistic approach to soil biology and ecosystem function. Students and ecosystem researchers will gain a greater understanding of the central roles that soils play in ecosystem development and function. The authors emphasize the increasing importance of soils as the organizing center for all terrestrial ecosystems and provide an overview of theory and practice of soil ecology, both from an ecosystem and evolutionary biology point of view. This volume contains updated and greatly expanded coverage of all belowground biota (roots, microbes and fauna) and methods to identify and determine its distribution and abundance. New chapters are provided on soil biodiversity and its relationship to ecosystem processes, suggested laboratory and field methods to measure biota and their activities in ecosystems.

Contents

Preface to First Edition Preface to Second Edition 1 Historical Overview of Soils and The Fitness of the Soil Environment
2 Primary Production Processes in Soils: Roots and Rhizosphere Associates
3 Secondary Production: Activities and Functions of Heterotrophic Organisms--Microbes
4 Secondary Production: Activities and Functions of Heterotrophic 5 Decomposition and Nutrient Cycling
6 Soil Foodwebs: Detritivory and Microbivory in Soils
7 Soil Biodiversity, and Linkages to Soil Processes
8 Future Developments in Soil Ecology
9 Laboratory and Field Exercises in Soil Ecology