The Biology Of Soil: A Community And Ecosystem Approach

THE BIOLOGY OF SOIL: A COMMUNITY AND ECOSYSTEM APPROACH.

By Richard Bardgett, Oxford (England) University Press. $124.50 (hc) $54.50 (pb). xi & 242 p. I ill.; index. ISBN 0-9-82502-8 (Hbk)ISBN 0-19-82503-6 (Pbk). 2005

This book is unusual in that it focuses on not only various aspects of soil microorganisms and microbial processes but also on the general biodiversity of soil organisms and soil invertebrates. It describes details of key soil dynamic processes and discusses the various ways in which these can influence the form and function of ecosystems. It also addresses how soil organisms might respond to future global climate changes, thereby having major impacts on soil processes in terrestrial ecosystems. There are six chapters addressing various aspects of the soil environment; the diversity of life in soil; organism interactions and soil processes; linkages between plant and soil biological communities; interactions between above-ground trophic interactions and soil biological communities; and soil biological properties and global change.

The whole emphasis of the book is on demonstrating how interactions and feedbacks between soil and plant communities can impact diverse ecosystems. The importance of these relationships on the responses of ecosystems to potential global change is emphasized throughout the book.

This publication aims at providing students and researchers with a comprehensive introduction to the vast biodiversity of soil organisms, the factors that regulate their distributions, and the significance of this complex soil biota on many aspects of ecosystem form and function.

It is very well written and illustrated and its unique approach and breadth of coverage separates it from the typical soil microbiology text and justifies it having a place on all soil scientists and soil ecologists bookshelves.

CLIVE A. EDWARDS, Soil Ecology Laboratory and Entomology Department. The Ohio State

University, Columbus, Ohio