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 intera

We are not free from environmental risks that accompany the development of human societies. Modern economic development has accelerated environmental pollution, caused loss of natural habitats, and modified landscapes. These environmental changes have impacted natural systems: water and heat circulation, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity. These changes in natural systems degrade ecosystem services and subsequently increase environmental risks for humans. Environmental risks, therefore, are not only human health risks by pollution, climatic anomalies and natural disasters, but also degradation of ecosystem services on which most people are relying for their lives. We cannot entirely eliminate the risks, because it is not possible to attain zero impact on the environment, but we need to find a mechanism that minimizes environmental risks for human sustainably. This is the idea of the interdisciplinary framework of “environmental risk management” theory, which advocates harmony between economic development and environmental conservation. Based on this theory, the Sustainable Living with Environmental Risk (SLER) programme, adopted by the Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT) as one of its strategic programmes, has been training graduate students at the Yokohama National University, Japan, from 2009 to 2013 to become future environmental leaders who will take the initiative in reducing the level of environmental risks and in protecting natural resources in the developing nations of Asia and Africa. This book provides students and teachers of this new academic field with a comprehensive coverage of case studies of environmental risks and their practical management technologies not only in Japan but also in developing nations in Asia and Africa.

Ecology is the study of the interrelationships between organisms and their environment, including the biotic and abiotic components. There are at least six kinds of ecology: ecosystem, physiological, behavioural, population, and community; specific topics include: Acid Deposition, Acid Rain Revisited, Biodiversity, Biocomplexity, Carbon Sequestration in Soils, Coral Reefs, Ecosystem Services, Environmental Justice, Fire Ecology, Floods, Global Climate Change, Hypoxia, and Invasion. This book presents new research on ecology from around the world.

Current Developments in Biotechnology and Bioengineering: Current Advances in Solid-State Fermentation provides knowledge and information on solid-state fermentation involving the basics of microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics and principles of genetic engineering, metabolic engineering and biochemical engineering. This volume of the series is on Solid-State fermentation (SSF), which would cover the basic and applied aspects of SSF processes, including engineering aspects such as design of bioreactors in SSF. The book offers a pool of knowledge on biochemical and microbiological aspects as well as chemical and biological engineering aspects of SSF to provide an integrated knowledge and version to the readers. - Provides state-of-the-art information on basic and fundamental principles of solid-state fermentation - Includes key features for the education and understanding of biotechnology education and R&D, in particular on SSF - Lists fermentation methods for the production of a wide variety of enzymes and metabolites - Provides examples of the various industrial applications of enzymes in solid state fermentation

Earthworms (Verms) have long been described as the intestine of the earth, friends of farmers and so on, because of their manifold functions in the soil. Recently, earthworms have come to be recognized as one of the bioreactors due to their ability to degrade organic waste materials into available vermin-compost and the technology is being described as vermiculture technology or Vermitechnology. Due to population explosion beyond the limit and rapid urbanization, total agricultural land area is decreasing day by day. These are directly affecting the crop production. Although due to the usage of various chemical fertilizers and pesticides, yield of crop production have been increased multi-folds, but their excessive and imbalance usage causing tremendous alterations in natural soil environment. In order to cope with this trenchant problem, the vermitechnology has become the most suitable remedial device of the day. Therefore, the present book entitled Verms & Vermitechnology has been edited to make the low cost vermitechnology a grand success among the farmers, researchers and academicians.

Current Developments in Biotechnology and Bioengineering: Solid Waste Management provides extensive coverage of new developments, state-of-the-art technologies, and potential future trends, reviewing the latest innovative developments in environmental biotechnology and bioengineering as they pertain to solid wastes, also revealing current research priority areas in solid waste treatment and management. The fate of solid wastes can be divided into three major areas, recycling, energy recovery, and safe disposal. From this foundation, the book covers such key areas as biotechnological production of value added products from solid waste, bioenergy production from various organic solid wastes, and biotechnological solutions for safe, environmentally-friendly treatment and disposal. The state of the art situation, potential advantages, and limitations are discussed, along with proposed strategies on how to overcome limitations. - Reviews available bioprocesses for the production of bioproducts from solid waste - Outlines processes for the production of energy from solid waste using biochemical conversion processes - Lists various environmentally friendly treatments of solid waste and its safe disposal