The Living Soil: Basics of Soil Science - Soil Biology - J.-. Gobat, M. Aragno, W. Matthey | EPFL Press

Soil science, or pedology, is a rapidly evolving field that increasingly incorporates the role of living organisms. In "The Living Soil: Basics of Pedology - Soil Biology," authors Jean-Michel Gobat, Michel Aragno, and Willy Matthey provide a comprehensive overview of the biological and ecological mechanisms that govern soil formation and function.

This book is divided into three main parts:

1. General Pedology: Essential knowledge about the components and properties of soil, with a focus on biological aspects.
2. Soil-Organism Relationships: Various types of relationships between organisms and soil, including wood decomposition, peat formation, composting, and bioremediation.
3. Biological Mechanisms: The role of enzymes, trophic networks, bacterial and mycorrhizal symbioses, and rhizosphere activity.

This third edition has been extensively revised, with two new chapters dedicated to biodiversity, ecological niches, adaptive strategies, bioindication, and the role of soil in biogeochemical cycles. Themes such as the application of molecular methods to soil biology, biomineralization, and the classification of humus forms and soils have been significantly expanded.

Containing nearly 1500 scientific term definitions, over 1200 bibliographic references, and illustrated with numerous often unpublished case studies, this book is an essential reference for a wide audience, from students to researchers and practitioners.

Table of Contents:

• Foreword
• Preface
• Soil, an ecological system
• The building blocks of the soil system: inert components and living organisms
• Soil properties
• Life in action
• Soil formation, evolution, and classification
• Between life and soil: humus forms
• Soil and vegetation: multilevel relationships
• Deadwood, dung, carcasses, and piles of stones: soil annexes
• A stalled decomposition: from peat moss to peat
• Bioremediation of contaminated soils
• Animals and soil: a wide variety of forms and functions
• The living soil
• Why so many species in soils? Niches, strategies, biodiversity, and bioindication
• Food chains and networks: the path of energy and bioelements in the soil
• Major biogeochemical cycles pass through the soil
• Soil enzymes
• The rhizosphere: a (micro)biologically active interface between plant and soil
• Mutualistic symbioses of the soil
• Looking ahead... Soil biology!
• Bibliography
• Index
• Biographical notes

Features:

• Title: The Living Soil: Basics of Pedology - Soil Biology
• Author(s): Jean-Michel Gobat, Michel Aragno, Willy Matthey
• Collection: Science and Environmental Engineering
• Publisher: EPFL Press
• Publication: June 29, 2010
• Edition: 3rd edition
• Support: Paperback book
• Number of pages: 848
• Format (in mm): 160 x 240
• Weight (in grams): 1550
• Language(s): French
• EAN13 Paperback: 978-2-88074-718-3

Available now at Athenaeum.com, this book is a must-have for deepening your knowledge of pedology and soil biology.