The living soil is crucial to photosynthesis, biogeochemical cycles, global food production, climate change, biodiversity, and plant and animal health. In the past decade, scientists have made significant advances in soil microbiology research. While the basic principles are now better understood, knowledge has been forthcoming on the best available technologies and methods applied to researching soil microorganisms, their diversity, interactions, biochemistry, survival, gene expression, and their roles in global climate change, plant disease suppression and growth stimulation, and biogeochemical cycles. This knowledge can be applied to better predict the transformation of pollutants in soil and the activities of microbes in the rhizosphere. It will also assist us in fostering crop production in an era with an increasing human population and intensification of agriculture.
Following the tradition of its predecessors, Modern Soil Microbiology, Third Edition, is an indispensable source that supports graduate/undergraduate teaching for soil and environmental microbiologists in academia, as well as in government and industrial laboratories. It is a comprehensive collection of chapters on various aspects of soil microbiology, useful for all professionals working with soils. Compiled by internationally renowned educators and research scholars, this textbook contains key tables, figures, and photographs, supported by thousands of references to illustrate the depth of knowledge in soil microbiology.
FEATURES
- Fully updated and expanded to include new key chapters on historical developments, future applications, and soil viruses and proteins
- Discusses molecular methods applied to soil microbiology, diverse soil microorganisms, and global climate change
- Emphasizes the role of terrestrial microorganisms and cycles involved in climate change
- Details the latest molecular methods applied to soil microbiology research
- User-friendly for students, and containing numerous tables, figures, and illustrations to better understand the current knowledge in soil microbiology
About the Author: Jan Dirk van Elsas is an Emeritus Professor of Microbial Ecology at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. Professor van Elsas obtained his M.Sc. degree in Chemical Technology at the University of Delft, The Netherlands. He then obtained his Ph.D. degree in Microbiology from the Institute of Microbiology Professor Paulo de Goes at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IMPPG-UFRJ), Brazil. From Rio de Janeiro, he moved to Wageningen University and Research Centre, where he occupied various positions, lastly as the leader of the Microbial Buffering group at the Plant Research International (PRI) institute. In 2003, he moved to the University of Groningen, where he took the chair Professorship of Microbial Ecology. Professor van Elsas is a specialist of bacterial survival and evolution by horizontal gene transfer in soil, the rhizosphere and the mycosphere. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers in this area, and edited several books. He has been a leader in the exploration of horizontal gene processes and agents in soil activity hot spots, including the rhizosphere and mycosphere. Professor van Elsas formally retired in 2017 and is currently iinvolved in a range of science policy and management activities.
Dr. Alexandre S Rosado is currently a Professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil and is also a Visiting Professor at Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California - Davis, USA. He is the former Director of the Institute of Microbiology at UFRJ (IMPG-UFRJ) and Vice-President of the Brazilian Society of Microbiology (SBM). He holds a B.Sc. in Biological Sciences, an M.Sc. in Microbiology and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from UFRJ. This included a Sandwich period at Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands. Professor Rosado is an environmental microbiologist specializing in the molecular ecology of soil, extreme environments and bioremediation.
Paolo Nannipieri is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Firenze, Italy. He has taken the Degree in Biological Sciences in December 1969, was a Researcher at the Institute for Soil Chemistry, National Research Council, Pisa (1972-1986), occupied the Chair of Soil Chemistry at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tuscia, Viterbo (1986-1990) and then the Chair of Agricultural Biochemistry at the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Firenze. In the latter Institute, he was the Head of the Department of Agri-food and Environmental Sciences and the Department of Agri-food Production and Environmental Sciences. He is the author and co-author of about 250 publications (one in Nature), mostly in International Scientific Journals and the editor of several books. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Biology and Fertility of Soils. He has received the Lifetime Achievement Award "Terrestrial Enzymology" during the meeting "Enzymes in the Environment. Ecology, Activity & Applications", Bangor, Wales, United Kingdom, 26 July 2016. He has been a Highly Cited Researcher in 2015 (among only 44 Italian Researchers) and 2016 according to Thomson Reuters. Professor Nannipieri is a specialist of soil biochemistry.
Jack T. Trevors is an Emeritus Professor of Microbiology at the University of Guelph, Canada. Professor Trevors obtained his B.Sc. (biology) and M.Sc. (microbiology) degrees from Acadia University and his Ph.D. degree (microbiology) from the University of Waterloo, Canada. Professor Trevor's academic career was at the University of Guelph, Canada from 1982 to 2012, where he is currently University Professor Emeritus. His areas of expertise are Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Bioremediation, bacterial survival and activities in the environment, microbiological methods, and the origin and evolution of microorganisms. Professor Trevors is a member of several science academies and is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Microbiological Methods and Water, Air and Soil Pollution. He is also an editor with the journal Antonie van Leeuwenhoek.
