Fauna In Soil Ecosystems: Recycling Processes, Nutrient Fluxes, And Agricultural Production (books In Soils, Plants, And The Environment)

Offers an integrated presentation of the microbial, agronomic and recycling aspects of soil faunal potentials, emphasizing agricultural ecosystems and furnishing methods for modelling food webs. The text covers morphology, reproduction, abundances, basic requirements, competition, predation, parasitism, nutrient cycling and phytopathological interactions, soil physics and agricultural management, plus methods to quantify soil faunal groups. Structured according to soil animal size, Fauna in Soil Ecosystems examines the role of soil fauna in mineralization of photoassimilates and organic wastes ... mediating nutrients from soil minerals and microbial biomass to plants ... disseminating and controlling soil microflora ... accumulating or dispersing hazardous components and pathogens ... accelerating genetic exchanges as soil microbial incubators ... and more. Lucidly illustrated and containing over 1400 bibliographic citations, Fauna in Soil Ecosystems is an incomparable reference for soil and environmental biologists and microbiologists, agronomists, horticulturists, ecologists, biotechnologists, botanists, plant nutritionists, virologists, mycologists, zoologists, and upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in these disciplines Offers an integrated presentation of the microbial, agronomic and recycling aspects of soil faunal potentials, emphasizing agricultural ecosystems and furnishing methods for modelling food webs. This text covers morphology, reproduction, abundances, basic requirements, competition, predation, nutrient cycling and phytopathological interactions.