Almost a half-century ago, André Voisin had already grasped the importance of elements of the soil and their effects on plants, and ultimately, animal and human life. He saw the hidden danger in the gross oversimplification of fertilization practices that use harsh chemicals and ignore the delicate balance of trace minerals and nutrients in the soil. In this volume Voisin issues a call to stand up and acknowledge our responsibilities for public health and protective medicine ¿ part of a concerted attempt to remove the causes of ill health, disease and, in particular, cancer.

Many wetlands around the world act as sinks for pollutants, in particular for trace elements. In comparison to terrestrial environments, wetlands are still far less studied. A collaborative effort among world experts, this book brings the current knowledge concerning trace elements in temporary waterlogged soils and sediments together. It discusses factors controlling the dynamics and release kinetics of trace elements and their underlying biogeochemical processes. It also discusses current technologies for remediating sites contaminated with trace metals, and the role of bioavailability in risk assessment and regulatory decision making. This book is intended for professionals around the world in disciplines related to contaminant bioavailability in aquatic organisms, contaminant fate and transport, remediation technologies, and risk assessment of aquatic and wetland ecosystems.

Cultural understandings of soil are diverse and often ambiguous. Cultural framing of soils is common worldwide and is highly consequential. The implications of what place the earth has in people's world view and everyday life can be in line with or in conflict with natural conditions, with scientific views, or with agricultural practices. The main assumption underlying this work is that soil is inescapably perceived in a cultural context by any human. This gives emergence to different significant webs of meaning influenced by religious, spiritual, or secular myths, and by a wide range of beliefs, values and ideas that people hold in all societies. These patterns and their dynamics inform the human-soil relationship and how soils are cared for, protected, or degraded. Therefore, there is need to deal inter-culturally with different sources and types of knowledge and experience regarding soil; a need to cultivate soil awareness and situationally appropriate care through inter- and intra-cultural dialogues and learning. This project focuses on the human and intangible dimensions of soil. To serve this aim, the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) founded a working group on Cultural Patterns of Soil Understanding that has resulted in this book, which presents studies from almost all continents, written by soil scientists and experts from other disciplines. A major objective of this project is to promote intercultural literacy that gives readers the opportunity to appreciate soil across disciplinary and cultural boundaries in an increasingly globalized world. . .

Grade-schoolers learn how ants, snails, slugs, beetles, earthworms, spiders, and other subterranean creatures live, breed, interact, move about, defend themselves, and more.