How do plants react to elements in the soil? A vital question, particulary in today's world of increasing environmental contamination... The answer can be found in this book. It has an extraordinarily broad basis, compiling up-to-date information from numerous specialist disciplines. Key articles are devoted to - Soil Chemistry and Bioavailability - Metal-tolerant Plants - Metalloenzymes - Toxic Effects of Metals - Radionuclides Moreover emphasis is placed on environmental aspects, with detailed considerations of plants that hyperaccumulate heavy metals and plants that are indicators for pollution. A discussion of experimental techniques rounds off the book. They include sampling, sample preparation, analytical methods and aspects of quality assurance. All in all a valuable forum for the exchange of current thinking across a broad spectrum of disciplines.

Earlier works on plant essential elements have revealed a series of complicated, counter-intuitive relationships among various chemical elements in different plant species, due to both unlike usage of certain elements in plants and to different carriers effecting resorption and transport. In an attempt to provide a more coherent theory behind plant mineral nutrition, this groundbreaking book adopts a very different approach from the existing literature, presenting an explanation of the essentiality of chemical elements in biological systems and the application of stoichiometric network analysis (SNA) to the biological system of elements. Starting with data from biochemical environmental analysis, and a discussion of the phenomena involved in metal ion partition and autocatalytic behaviour, conditions and criteria controlling the partition of metals into biomass are investigated. Several rules are derived and investigated in terms of their interaction both in comparisons among contemporary organisms and in terms of evolution. This allows the construction, for example of a map which directly traces the biological feature of essentiality to parameters of coordination chemistry. The book will have worldwide appeal for researchers interested in fields such as soil/plant interactions, bioinorganic chemistry, plant nutrition, phytomining, bioremediation, biogeochemistry, nutrient cycling, soil chemistry, and cellular physiology.

How large is the natural variation in concentration of the various elements in different media? How do the oft-cited "World average concentrations" in different media compare with actual analytical data? How low a detection limit do I need to attain if I want to analyse for an element in soils, sediments, water or plants? All these questions and many more can be answered by using this unique reference book. It collates data on the most important properties and uses of all naturally occurring chemical elements. It combines these with data obtained from actual analyses of different sample media (soil, stream sediment, stream water, ground water, plants, human body fluids). This combination of facts and actual data makes this book suitable for learning and teaching applied geochemistry as well.

BENEFICIAL CHEMICAL ELEMENTS OF PLANTS Understand beneficial elements and their role in the future of botany and agriculture Beneficial elements are those which, while not essential to plant life, can provide stimulation and enhance plant growth. Properly harnessed, these elements can bolster plant growth in the face of environmental conditions—including drought, nutrient deficiency, and excessive soil salinity—and biotic stresses like pathogens and animal activity. As climate change and population growth pose increasingly serious challenges to agriculture and essential plant production, it has never been more important to unleash the potential of beneficial elements. Beneficial Chemical Elements of Plants is an essential resource for researchers and industry specialists looking to enhance their understanding of these elements and the range and variety of their enhancements to plant growth. Written by leading scholars in the field of plant stress tolerance and nutrient enrichment, it discusses not only the rich possibilities of beneficial elements but their mechanisms of action at both biochemical and molecular levels. It details the precise potential roles played by each major beneficial element and surveys a range of elemental responses to specific environmental conditions and plant stresses. Beneficial Chemical Elements of Plants readers will also find: Chapters covering beneficial elements including aluminum, cobalt, sodium, selenium, and silicon Discussion of application methods and typical plant responses Treatment of beneficial elements in a wider environmental context Beneficial element applications to the field of sustainable agriculture Beneficial Chemical Elements of Plants is a fundamental starting point for researchers and students in the fields of plant physiology, crop science, agriculture, and botany, as well as for professionals in the biotechnology and agricultural industries.

As scientific progress hinges on the continual discovery and extension of previous discoveries, this series, Discoveries in Plant Biology, is specially compiled to provide an atlas of the landmark discoveries in the broad span of plant biology. The collection of chapters, written by renowned plant biologists, describe how classic discoveries were made and how they have served as the foundation for subsequent discoveries. We hope that this will facilitate our readers' quest to advance their knowledge based on the advancements made previously by others.The 21 discoveries described in this First Volume all form the foundations of modern plant biology. The contributors, many of whom are themselves the researchers who made the discoveries, bring readers back in time to retrace the steps of the discoveries. Following the creative thoughts of the scientists in deciphering the natural laws, readers may appreciate how each field was developed from a simple subject to an advanced multidisciplinary field.

BENEFICIAL CHEMICAL ELEMENTS OF PLANTS Understand beneficial elements and their role in the future of botany and agriculture Beneficial elements are those which, while not essential to plant life, can provide stimulation and enhance plant growth. Properly harnessed, these elements can bolster plant growth in the face of environmental conditions—including drought, nutrient deficiency, and excessive soil salinity—and biotic stresses like pathogens and animal activity. As climate change and population growth pose increasingly serious challenges to agriculture and essential plant production, it has never been more important to unleash the potential of beneficial elements. Beneficial Chemical Elements of Plants is an essential resource for researchers and industry specialists looking to enhance their understanding of these elements and the range and variety of their enhancements to plant growth. Written by leading scholars in the field of plant stress tolerance and nutrient enrichment, it discusses not only the rich possibilities of beneficial elements but their mechanisms of action at both biochemical and molecular levels. It details the precise potential roles played by each major beneficial element and surveys a range of elemental responses to specific environmental conditions and plant stresses. Beneficial Chemical Elements of Plants readers will also find: Chapters covering beneficial elements including aluminum, cobalt, sodium, selenium, and silicon Discussion of application methods and typical plant responses Treatment of beneficial elements in a wider environmental context Beneficial element applications to the field of sustainable agriculture Beneficial Chemical Elements of Plants is a fundamental starting point for researchers and students in the fields of plant physiology, crop science, agriculture, and botany, as well as for professionals in the biotechnology and agricultural industries.