Fundamentals of Soil Ecology - Hardcover

Coleman, D.C.; Crossley Jr., D. A.; Crossley Jr, D.A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0121797252 ISBN 13: 9780121797256

Publisher: Academic Press Inc, 1996

Synopsis

This graduate level text reference is designed to be a bridge between ecologists and soil scientists of all sorts. There is increasing awareness that soil is the organizing centre for all terrestrial ecosystems. This supplemental text examines why this is so, in terms of physics, chemistry, and biology of the soil ecosystem. Aspects of biodiversity and global change, and the important role soils play in global carbon balance, are also discussed. Fundamentals of Soil Ecology is a holistic approach to soil biology and ecosystem function and treats soils as: Living entities, not "black boxes" Organizing centers for how ecosystems function over time Filled with diverse biota, fauna, microbes, and roots Features: * Living entities, not "black boxes" * Organizing centers for how ecosystems function over time * Filled with diverses biota, fauna, microbes, and roots

About this title

Review

"This is a superbly crafted primer for anyone interested in the burgeoning field of soil ecology. It builds a conceptual framework and provides context for more in-depth analysis of the primary literature. It masterfully presents much of its information as figures and tables taken from primary literature, and provides just enough information to entice readers to seek more details from the original work. Coleman and Crossley blend their tremendous wealth of experience, to present an historical perspective of the field as no other writers could. It is refreshing to read such a thorough and effective coverage of classic studies pertaining to soil ecology." --THE QUATERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY "This is an excellent primer for serious students. There are more than 500 references, most of which are either classics or recent good work. There are lots of interesting tidbits to keep the reader going. I enthused on about the merits of this book to a colleague who teaches soil biology, only to discover he has already used it in class, and was equally enthusiastic." --Steve Sheppard in JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

About the Author

David C. Coleman has been a lifelong soil ecologist with interests in soil biodiversity and biogeochemical cycling. He conducted research at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory of the University of Georgia (1965-1971), and the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University (1972-1985). While there, he also progressed through the ranks from Assistant to Associate and Full Professor of Zoology and Entomology at CSU. From 1985 he has been a Distinguished Research Professor of Ecology in the Institute of Ecology and later the Odum School of Ecology of the University of Georgia. He has been Professor Emeritus since 2005.

During the academic year of 1979-1980, Coleman was visiting Research Fellow at the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) Institute of Nuclear Sciences and Soil Bureau in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. David received the Distinguished Service award from the Soil Ecology Society in 1999 and the Distinguished Ecosystem Scientist award from the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory in 2002. He served on several advisory panels on Ecology and Ecosystems with the National Science Foundation and on an advisory panel on Alternative Agriculture for the National Research Council. His research has concentrated on microbial-faunal interactions in detrital food webs in agroecosystems, e.g, Horseshoe Bend, near Athens, and in forested watersheds at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in western North Carolina, as part of the Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) study. From 1996-2002 he was co-lead PI on the Coweeta LTER project. He was also a McMaster Visiting Research Fellow at CSIRO, Adelaide, South Australia, January-April 2006.

David served as co-Chief Editor of Soil Biology and Biochemistry from 1998 to 2010 and serves as its Review Editor currently. He serves on editorial boards of several other soil biology journals. He has published over 300 refereed journal articles and books and is senior author of Fundamentals of Soil Ecology (second edition, 2004), and the author of Big Ecology: The Emergence of Ecosystem Science (2010).

Edition details

• Publisher: Academic Press Inc
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0121797252
• ISBN 13: 9780121797256
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 196