This volume explores current knowledge and methods used to study soil organisms and to attribute their activity to wider ecosystem functions. Biodiversity not only responds to environmental change, but has also been shown to be one of the key drivers of ecosystem function and service delivery. Soil biodiversity in tree-dominated ecosystems is also governed by these principles, the structure of soil biological communities is clearly determined by environmental, as well as spatial, temporal and hierarchical factors. Global environmental change, together with land-use change and ecosystem management by humans, impacts the aboveground structure and composition of tree ecosystems. Due to existing knowledge of the close links between the above- and belowground parts of terrestrial ecosystems, we know that soil biodiversity is also impacted. However, very little is known about the nature of these impacts; effects on the overall level of biodiversity, the magnitude and diversity of functions soil biodiversity generates, but also on the present and future stability of tree ecosystems and soils. Even though much remains to be learned about the relationships between soil biodiversity and tree ecosystem functionality, it is clear that better effort needs to be made to describe and understand key processes which take place in soils and are driven by soil biota.

As the Gulf of Mexico recovers from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, natural resource managers face the challenge of understanding the impacts of the spill and setting priorities for restoration work. The full value of losses resulting from the spill cannot be captured, however, without consideration of changes in ecosystem services-the benefits delivered to society through natural processes. An Ecosystem Services Approach to Assessing the Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico discusses the benefits and challenges associated with using an ecosystem services approach to damage assessment, describing potential impacts of response technologies, exploring the role of resilience, and offering suggestions for areas of future research. This report illustrates how this approach might be applied to coastal wetlands, fisheries, marine mammals, and the deep sea-each of which provide key ecosystem services in the Gulf-and identifies substantial differences among these case studies. The report also discusses the suite of technologies used in the spill response, including burning, skimming, and chemical dispersants, and their possible long-term impacts on ecosystem services.

Soil science has undergone a renaissance with increasing awareness of the importance of soil organisms and below-ground biotic interactions as drivers of community and ecosystem properties.

Soil science has undergone a renaissance with increasing awareness of the importance of soil organisms and below-ground biotic interactions as drivers of community and ecosystem properties.

"The Atlas describes soil as habitat for the diversity of organisms that live under our feet. At the same time, it draws attention to the threats to soil biodiversity, such as invasive species, pollution, intensive land use practices or climate change. The Atlas provides current solutions for a sustainable management of soils. It was coordinated by the JRC and the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative (www.globalsoilbiodiversity.org) with more than 70 contributing organisations and several hundred individual contributions. It illustrates the diversity of soil organisms, explains their geographical and temporal distribution, the ecosystem functions and services provided by soil biota. Most importantly, it draws attention to the myriad of threats to soil biodiversity. These include inappropriate land management practices (e.g. deforestation, land take for infrastructure development), agricultural systems, over-grazing, forest fires and poor water management (both irrigation and drainage). Other practices such as land conversion from grassland or forest to cropped land result in rapid loss of soil carbon, which indirectly enhances global warming. The Atlas shows that mismanaging soils could exacerbate the effects of climate change, jeopardise agricultural production, compromise the quality of ground water and worsen pollution. It also proposes solutions to safeguard soil biodiversity through the development of policies that directly or indirectly target soil health, leading to a more sustainable use."--

Growing demographic trends require sustainable technologies to improve quality and yield of future food productions. However, there is uncertainty about plant protection strategies in many agro-ecosystems. Pests, diseases, and weeds are overwhelmingly controlled by chemicals which pose health risks and cause other undesirable effects.Therefore, an increasing concern on control measures emerged in recent years. Many chemicals became questioned with regard to their sustainability and are (or will be) banned. Alternative management tools are studied, relying on biological, and low impact solutions. This ResearchTopic concerns microbial biocontrol agents, root-associated microbiomes, and rhizosphere networks. Understanding how they interact or respond to (a)biotic environmental cues is instrumental for an effective and sustainable impact. The rhizosphere is in this regard a fundamental object of study, because of its role in plant productivity. This e-book provides a polyhedral perspective on many issues in which beneficial microorganisms are involved. Data indeed demonstrate that they represent an as yet poorly-explored resource, whose exploitation may actively sustain plant protection and crop production. Given the huge number of microbial species present on the planet, the microorganisms studied represent just the tip of an iceberg. Data produced are, however, informative enough about their genetic and functional biodiversity, as well as about the ecosystem services they provide to underp in crop production. Challenges for future research work concern not only the biology of these species, but also the practices required to protect their biodiversity and to extend their application in the wide range of agricultural soils and systems present in the world. Agriculture cannot remain successfully and sustainable unless plant germplasm and useful microbial species are integrated, a goal for which new knowledge and information-based approaches are urgently needed.

This multi-contributor, international volume synthesizes contributions from the world's leading soil scientists and ecologists, describing cutting-edge research that provides a basis for the maintenance of soil health and sustainability. The book covers these advances from a unique perspective of examining the ecosystem services produced by soil biota across different scales - from biotic interactions at microscales to communities functioning at regional and global scales. The book leads the user towards an understanding of how the sustainability of soils, biodiversity, and ecosystem services can be maintained and how humans, other animals, and ecosystems are dependent on living soils and ecosystem services. This is a valuable reference book for academic libraries and professional ecologists worldwide as a statement of progress in the broad field of soil ecology. It will also be of interest to both upper level undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in soil ecology, as well as academic researchers and professionals in the field requiring an authoritative, balanced, and up-to-date overview of this fast expanding topic.