Soils with high Ni contents occur in several parts of the world, especially in areas with ultramafic rocks which cause serious environmental impacts. This book aims to extend the knowledge on the risks and problems caused by elevated Ni contents and to cover the existing gaps on issues related to various aspects and consequences of high Ni contents in soils and plants. Nickel in Soils and Plants brings together discussions on Ni as a trace element and as a micronutrient essential for plant growth and its role in plant physiology. It analyzes the biogeochemistry of Ni at the soil plant interface, and explains its behavior in the rhizosphere resulting in Ni deficiency or toxicity, or Ni tolerance of various Ni hyperaccumulators. Included are Ni resources and sources, the origin of soil Ni, its geochemical forms in soils and their availability to plants, a special reference on soils enriched with geogenic Ni, such as serpentine soils, and the special characteristics of those ecosystems. Recent advancements in methods of Ni speciation, including the macroscale and X- ray absorption spectroscopy studies as well as serious views on Ni kinetics, are also covered. Written by a team of internationally recognized researchers and expert contributors, this comprehensive work addresses the practical aspects of managing Ni in soils and plants for agricultural production, and managing soils with high Ni levels by using organic and inorganic amendments. The text also addresses practical measures related to Ni toxicity in plants, the removal and recovery of Ni from high Ni wastes, and offers environmentally friendly innovative processes for mining Ni from soils containing high Ni levels.

This second and expanded edition of the first book on agromining (phytomining) presents a comprehensive overview of the metal farming & recovery of the agromining production chain. Agromining is an emerging technology that aims to transform the extraction of sources of target elements not accessible by traditional mining and processing techniques. Agromining, which is based on sustainable development, uses hyperaccumulator plants as 'metal crops' farmed on sub-economic soils or minerals wastes to obtain valuable target elements. This volume is edited and authored by the pioneers in the rapidly expanding field of agromining and presents the latest insights and developments in the field. This book provides in-depth information on the global distribution and ecology of hyperaccumulator plants, their biogeochemical pathways, the influence of rhizosphere microbes, the physiology and molecular biology of hyperaccumulation, as well as aspects of propagation and conservation of these unusual plants. It describes the agronomy of metal crops and opportunities for incorporating agromining into rehabilitation and mine closure, including test cases for agromining of nickel, cobalt, manganese, arsenic, selenium, cadmium, zinc, thallium, rare earth elements and platinum group elements. Since the first edition was published, there have successful nickel agromining field trials in the tropics (in Malaysia and Guatemala), and these are presented in a dedicated case study chapter. Other new chapters focus on the processing of bio-ore for elements other than nickel, such as rare earth elements and cadmium, and on agromining from industrial wastes such as tailings, and industrial by-products and sites. Furthermore, the book features two new chapters that provide a comprehensive assessment of accumulation a very wide range elements from the Periodic Table in various plant species around the globe, and a chapter on practical methods for discovery of hyperaccumulator plant species in the field and in the herbarium. This book is of interest to environmental professionals in the minerals industry, government regulators, and academics.

Metal contamination is an increasing ecological and eco-toxicological risk. Understanding the processes involved in metal mobilization, sorption and mineralization in soils are key features for soil bioremediation. Following an introduction to the physical, chemical and biological components of contaminated soils, various chapters address the interactions of soil, microorganisms, plants and the water phase necessary to transfer metals into biological systems. These include topics such as potential hazards at mining sites; rare earth elements in biotic and abiotic acidic systems; manganese redox reactions; biomineralisation, uranium in seepage water; metal-resistant streptomycetes; mycorrhiza in re-forestation; metal (hyper)accummulation in plants; microbial metal uptake; and their potential for bioremediation. This book will be of interest to soil biologists, geologists and chemists, researchers and graduate students, as well as consulting companies and small enterprises involved in bioremediation.

Soil-plant relationships once had a limited meaning. To the student of agriculture it meant creating optimum conditions for plant growth. To the ecologist it meant explaining some plant community distribu tion patterns by correlation with soil type or conditions. This dual view has been greatly expanded at an academic level by the discovery of the ecosystem as a practical working unit. A flood of concepts and information subsequently emerged from the International Biological Programme. At a totally different level of resolution, it is appreciated that certain soil-based ecological problems have a molecular basis, and must be addressed by physiological or biochemical approaches. From ecosystem to molecule we have powerful new tools to increase the flow of ecological data and process it for interpretation. Society is now experiencing a series of adverse global phenomena which demand an appreciation of soil-plant relationships. These include desertification leading to famine, soil degradation accom panying forest destruction, acidification of watersheds and the spasmodic dispersal of radionuclides and other pollutants. It is public policy, not merely to identify problems, but to seek strategies for minimising their ill effects. This book is written as a guide to soil-plant relationships, cen trally oriented towards ecology, but of interest to students of geo graphy and agriculture. For ecology students it will bring together subfields such as microbiology, plant physiology, systematics and pro vide interfaces with animal biology, meteorology and soil science.