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Interactions between Soil Particles and Microorganisms: Impact on the Terrestrial Ecosystem

Description
The IUPAC Series on Analytical and Physical Chemistry of Environmental Systems provides the scientific community with a critical evaluation of the state of the art on physicochemical structures and reactions in environmental systems, as well as on the analytical techniques required to study and monitor these systems. The series is aimed at promoting rigorous analysis and understanding of physicochemical functioning of environmental systems.

Soil, water and air are the major environmental media. Few pollutants and nutrients are restricted to only one medium. Thus what happens in soil environments has subsequent impacts on water and air.

The three major (solid) components of soil - minerals, organic components and microorganisms - together profoundly affect the physicochemical and biological properties of terrestrial systems. To date, there have been major scientific accomplishments in individual sub-disciplines, i.e., in the chemistry of soil minerals, the chemistry of soil organic matter and soil microbiology. However, minerals, organic matter and microorganisms should not be considered as separate entities but rather as a united system, with the components constantly in close association and interaction with each other in the terrestrial environment. These interactions have an enormous impact on terrestrial processes critical to environmental quality and ecosystem health.

Interactions between Soil Particles and Microorganisms provides the scientific community with a critical evaluation of state-of-the-art research on the interactions of soil minerals with organic components and microorganisms, with the goal of advancing the understanding of reactions and processes at the interface between chemistry and biology of soil and related environments. In view of the significance of these interactions, there is a need for an advanced treatise to focus on these interactions at the molecular and microscopic levels.

Key features:
* The first book to provide a comprehensive review of current research into the interactions of minerals, organic components and microorganisms in the soil

* Defines the impact that these interactions have on environmental quality and ecosystem health around the globe

* Provides a unique insight into the effects of mineral-organic component-microorganism interactions on pollutants in the soil, which is necessary for all environmental scientists working in this area

* Provides a basis for stimulating further research into the dynamics and mechanisms of environmental processes in nature
This volume provides an essential reference for chemists and biologists studying environmental systems, as well as earth and soil scientists, environmental geologists and environmental engineers. It will also be a useful source of information for professionals/consultants in microbiology and ecology.
About the Author

Antonio Violante, FASA, FSSSA, is Professor of Soil Chemistry in the Department of Soil, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Italy. Dr. Violante has authored or coauthored more than 150 refereed research articles, book chapters, and invited reviews, and has coedited six books. Pan Ming Huang, PhD, FAAAS, FASA, FCSSS, FSSSA, FWIF, is Professor Emeritus of Soil Science at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada. Dr. Huang has authored over 300 refereed articles and book chapters, written two books, edited seventeen others, and served on many editorial boards. He received the Distinguished Researcher Award from the University of Saskatchewan and the Soil Science Research Award from the Soil Science Society of America. Geoffrey Michael Gadd, PhD, DSc, FIBiol, FLS, FRSE, is the Head of the Division of Molecular and Environmental Microbiology at the University of Dundee, Scotland. Professor Gadd has published over 190 refereed papers, over twenty edited books, and over forty book chapters. He has received the Berkeley Award and the Benefactor's Medal of the British Mycological Society, the Charles Thom Award of the Society for Industrial Microbiology, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.