Measuring and Assessing the Biological Health of Soils

Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-1-83545-075-8
Verlag: Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing Ltd

Buch, Englisch, Band 173, 400 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

Reihe: Burleigh Dodds Series in Agricultural Science

One of the most important topics in soil science is understanding the relationship between soil biodiversity and soil ecosystem function. This relies on techniques able to accurately identify different soil organisms and how they interact in the soil microbiome.

Measuring and assessing the biological health of soils provides a comprehensive overview of the range of techniques used to assess microbial/faunal diversity activity in soils and its impact on key ecological processes. The book also reviews how biological indicators can be integrated into soil health testing programmes to improve the quality of agricultural, grassland and forest soils.

The book builds on a successful earlier volume published by Burleigh Dodds Science: Advances in measuring soil health (2021).

Zielgruppe

University and other researchers in soil and crop science, companies providing soil monitoring services, as well as government and other agencies responsible for ensuring the health of agricultural soils.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Norton, Jeanette

Norton, Professor Jeanette

Schimel, Josh

Schimel, Professor Josh

Lindo, Zoë

Lindo, Professor Zoë

Weitere Mitwirkende

Creamer, Professor Rachel

Yarwood, Professor Stephanie

Giles, Dr Maddy

Stewart, Dr Ryan

Nannipieri, Emeritus Professor Paolo

Hungate, Professor Bruce

Claassens, Dr Sarina

Van Groenigen, Professor Jan Willem

De Neve, Professor Stefaan

Neher, Professor Deborah

Amsili, Dr Joseph

Whalen, Professor Joann

Sünnemann, Dr Marie

Zhang, Professor Weixin

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Agrarwissenschaften Ackerbaukunde, Pflanzenbau
• Naturwissenschaften Agrarwissenschaften Agrarwissenschaften Nachhaltige Landwirtschaft

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- 1.Soil biology, soil health and ecosystem services: an overview: Rachel Creamer, Wageningen University, The Netherlands;

Part 1 DNA-based techniques to investigate soil biology
- 2.Advances in DNA based methods for assessing abundance and diversity and of microbial groups: Stephanie Yarwood, University of Maryland, USA;
- 3.Advances in quantitative PCR (qPCR) techniques for identifying and studying soil microbial communities: Maddy Giles, James Hutton Institute, UK;

Part 2 Biological indicators and other indirect techniques
- 4.Advances in soil respiration techniques as an indicator of soil microbial activity: Ryan Stewart, Virginia Tech, USA;
- 5.Enzyme assays for measuring soil microbial activity: Paolo Nannipieri, University of Florence, Italy;
- 6.Advances in stable isotope profiling (SIP) techniques to track plant-microbial interactions: Bruce Hungate, Northern Arizona University, USA;
- 7.Applications and advances in using phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) as biomarkers in analysing soil microbial communities: Sarina Claassens, Curtin University, Australia;

Part 3 Fauna as indicators of soil health
- 8.Earthworms/macrofauna as indicators of soil health: Jan Willem Van Groenigen, Wageningen University, The Netherlands;
- 9.Mesofauna as indicators of soil health: Stefaan De Neve, Ghent University, Belgium;
- 10.Nematodes/microfauna as indicators of soil health: Deborah Neher, University of Vermont, USA;

Part 4 Applications
- 11.Integrating biological indicators into soil health testing programmes: Joseph Amsili, Cornell University, USA;
- 12.Using biological indicators of soil health to assess the impact of particular cropping practices: Joann Whalen, McGill University, Canada;
- 13.Using biological indicators to assess the health of grasslands: Marie Sünnemann, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Germany;
- 14.Using biological indicators to assess the health of forest soils: Weixin Zhang, Henan University, China;

Über Autor(innen)

Lindo, Professor Zoë
Dr Zoë Lindo is Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. Professor Lindo is Co-Chair of the FAO International Initiative on Soil Biodiversity (NETSOB) and Editor-in-Chief of Pedobiologia: Journal Of Soil Ecology as well as being an acknowledged expert on soil biodiversity and its impact on ecosystem function.

Norton, Professor Jeanette
Dr Jeanette Norton is Professor of Soil Microbiology in the Department of Plants, Soils and Climate at Utah State University, USA. She is a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America. Professor Norton is internationally known for her research on ways of analysing the soil microbiome, including its role in nitrogen and carbon cycling.

Whalen, Professor Joann
Joann K. Whalen is a James McGill Professor at McGill University and an Affiliate Professor with the African Genome Center at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Morocco. Her research focuses on soil fertility and soil ecology in agroecosystems. She has published more than 250 peer-reviewed scientific publications and supervised/co-supervised more than 60 students at the M.Sc. and Ph.D. levels. Dr. Whalen is currently a Chief Editor for Soil Biology and Biochemistry, a Subject Editor for Applied Energy and a Review Editor for PNAS Nexus.

Nannipieri, Emeritus Professor Paolo
Dr Paolo Nannipieri is Emeritus Professor at the University of Florence (Firenze), Italy. He has authored/co-authored around 250 publications and has edited eight books, including the 3rd edition of Modern Soil Microbiology. Dr Nannipieri is the Editor-in-Chief of Biology and Fertility of Soils and member of the Editorial Board of Arid Soil Research and Rehabilitation. He has been the International Representative of the Italian Society of Soil Science at IUSS and president of the Italian Society of Agricultural Chemistry and of the Commission Soil Biology of the IUSS.

Schimel, Professor Josh
Dr Josh Schimel is Professor of Soil Ecology in the Faculty of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at the University of California-Santa Barbara, USA. Professor Schimel is Co-Editor in Chief of Soil Biology and Biochemistry. His research focuses on role of soil microbes in controlling ecosystem-scale processes.

Dr Jeanette Norton is Professor of Soil Microbiology in the Department of Plants, Soils and Climate at Utah State University, USA. She is a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America. Professor Norton is internationally known for her research on ways of analysing the soil microbiome, including its role in nitrogen and carbon cycling.

Dr Josh Schimel is Professor of Soil Ecology in the Faculty of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at the University of California-Santa Barbara, USA. Professor Schimel is Co-Editor in Chief of Soil Biology and Biochemistry. His research focuses on role of soil microbes in controlling ecosystem-scale processes.

Dr Zoë Lindo is Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. Professor Lindo is Co-Chair of the FAO International Initiative on Soil Biodiversity (NETSOB) and Editor-in-Chief of Pedobiologia: Journal Of Soil Ecology as well as being an acknowledged expert on soil biodiversity and its impact on ecosystem function.