Measuring and assessing the biological health of soils

• 1.Soil biology, soil health and ecosystem services: an overview: Rachel Creamer, Wageningen University, The Netherlands;

Part 1 Advances in DNA-based methods, biological and other indicators to investigate soil microbial activity

• 2.Advances in DNA based methods for assessing abundance and diversity and of microbial groups: Stephanie Yarwood, University of Maryland, USA;
• 3.Advances in quantitative PCR (qPCR) techniques for identifying and studying soil microbial communities: Maddy Giles, James Hutton Institute, UK;
• 4.Advances in soil respiration techniques as an indicator of soil microbial activity: Ryan Stewart, Virginia Tech, USA;
• 5.Enzyme assays for measuring soil microbial activity: Paolo Nannipieri, University of Florence, Italy;
• 6.Advances in stable isotope profiling (SIP) techniques to track plant-microbial interactions: Bruce Hungate, Northern Arizona University, USA;
• 7.Applications and advances in using phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) as biomarkers in analysing soil microbial communities: Sarina Claassens, Curtin University, Australia;

Part 2 Fauna as indicators of soil health

• 8.Earthworms/macrofauna as indicators of soil health: Jan Willem Van Groenigen, Wageningen University, The Netherlands;
• 9.Mesofauna as indicators of soil health: Stefaan De Neve, Ghent University, Belgium;
• 10.Nematodes/microfauna as indicators of soil health: Deborah Neher, University of Vermont, USA;

Part 3 Applications

• 11.Integrating biological indicators into soil health testing programmes: Joseph Amsili, Cornell University, USA;
• 12.Using biological indicators of soil health to assess the impact of particular cropping practices: Joann Whalen, McGill University, Canada;
• 13.Using biological indicators to assess the health of forest soils: Weixin Zhang, Henan University, China;

Dr Jeanette Norton is Professor of Soil Microbiology in the Department of Plants, Soils and Climate at Utah State University, USA. She is a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America. Professor Norton is internationally known for her research on ways of analysing the soil microbiome, including its role in nitrogen and carbon cycling.

Dr Josh Schimel is Professor of Soil Ecology in the Faculty of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at the University of California-Santa Barbara, USA. Professor Schimel is Co-Editor in Chief of Soil Biology and Biochemistry. His research focuses on role of soil microbes in controlling ecosystem-scale processes.

Dr Zoë Lindo is Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. Professor Lindo is Co-Chair of the FAO International Initiative on Soil Biodiversity (NETSOB) and Editor-in-Chief of Pedobiologia: Journal Of Soil Ecology as well as being an acknowledged expert on soil biodiversity and its impact on ecosystem function.

“Soils are fundamental to human civilisations and managing them in a sustainable manner is imperative. This necessitates the appropriate and accurate measurement of key soil properties and biological parameters are now widely understood to be central to these objectives. This excellent book, produced by an internationally outstanding group of experts, comprehensively documents the state-of-the-art in terms of assessing and quantifying belowground life and its attendant functions. Crucially, it provides a coherent and accessible resource that will serve as a key standard reference for anyone tasked with assessing – or interpreting such assessments of – soil health.” (Dr Karl Ritz, Emeritus Professor of Soil Ecology, University of Nottingham, UK)