Biological Soil Crusts: Structure, Function, and Management

Biological Soil Crusts: Structure, Function, and Management
Author: Jayne Belnap
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 496
Release: 2013-12-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3642564755

In arid lands, where vegetation is sparse or absent, the open ground is not bare but generally covered by a community of small, highly specialized organisms. Cyanobacteria, algae, microfungi, lichens, and bryophytes aggregate soil particles to form a coherent skin - the biological soil crust. It stabilizes and protects the soil surface from erosion by wind and water, influences water runoff and infiltration, and contributes nitrogen and carbon to desert soils. Soil surface disturbance, such as heavy livestock grazing, human trampling or off-road vehicles, breaks up the fragile soil crust, thus compromising its stability, structure, and productivity. This book is the first synthesis of the biology of soil crusts and their importance as an ecosystem component. Composition and functioning of different soil-crust types are discussed, and case studies are used to show the impact of crusts on landscape hydrology, soil stability, nutrient cycles, and land management.

Advances in Agricultural Microbiology

Advances in Agricultural Microbiology
Author: N.S. Subba Rao
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 767
Release: 2016-06-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1483100332

Advances in Agricultural Microbiology is a collection of papers about the progresses in the field of agricultural microbiology. The said papers are contributions of different experts in related fields. The book is divided into three sections. Section A covers topics related to the role of microorganisms in the mobilization of nutrients for plant growth such as the relationship of microbial genetics and biological nitrogen; plant surface microflora and plant nutrition; and developments in grass-bacteria associations. Section B discusses the use of microorganisms in the management of pathogens, pests, and weeds and includes topics such as the microbial control of insect pests; microbial herbicides; and agricultural antibiotics. Section C tackles strategies in bioconversion such as the production of biogas from agricultural wastes; bioconversion of lignocelluloses into protein-rich food and feed; and ethanol fuel from biomass. The text is recommended for biologists and agriculturists who would like to know more about the importance of microorganisms in the field of agriculture.

The Vegetation of Egypt

The Vegetation of Egypt
Author: M.A. Zahran
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 451
Release: 2008-11-23
Genre: Science
ISBN: 140208756X

This book is an attempt to compile and integrate the information documented by many botanists, both Egyptians and others, about the vegetation of Egypt. The ? rst treatise on the ? ora of Egypt, by Petrus Forsskal, was published in 1775. Records of the Egyptian ? ora made during the Napoleonic expedition to Egypt (1778–1801) were provided by A. R. Delile from 1809 to 1812 (Kassas, 1981). The early beginning of ecological studies of the vegetation of Egypt extended to the mid-nineteenth century. Two traditions may be recognized. The ? rst was general exploration and survey, for which one name is symbolic: Georges-Auguste Schweinfurth (1836–1925), a German scientist and explorer who lived in Egypt from 1863 to 1914. The second tradition was ecophysiological to explain the plant life in the dry desert. The work of G. Volkens (1887) remains a classic on xeroph- ism. These two traditions were maintained and expanded in further phases of e- logical development associated with the establishment of the Egyptian University in 1925 (now the University of Cairo). The ? rst professor of botany was the Swedish Gunnar Tackholm (1925–1929). He died young, and his wife Vivi Tackholm devoted her life to studying the ? ora of Egypt and gave leadership and inspiration to plant taxonomists and plant ecologists in Egypt for some 50 years. She died in 1978. The second professor of botany in Egypt was F. W.

Rice Farming Systems

Rice Farming Systems
Author:
Publisher: Int. Rice Res. Inst.
Total Pages: 385
Release: 1989
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9711042118

Egyptian rice research and training center inaugural; Rice in Egyptian and global agriculture in 2000; New dimensions for genetic improvement in rice; Strategies in rice crop management; New directions for rice farming systems; Biotechnology and rice improvement; Postharvest technology and by-product utilization for rice; Recent accomplishments in rice research in Egypt.

Effect of Mineral-Organic-Microorganism Interactions on Soil and Freshwater Environments

Effect of Mineral-Organic-Microorganism Interactions on Soil and Freshwater Environments
Author: Jacques Berthelin
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1461546834

The Working Group M.O. (Interactions of soil minerals with organic components and microorganisms) (WGMO) of the International Soil Science Society (ISSS) was founded in 1990 at the 14th World Congress of Soil Science (Kyoto, Japan), with Professor P.M. Huang being the Chairman. Since then, the Working Group M.O. has served as a forum to bring together soil chemists, soil mineralogists, soil microbiologists, soil biochemists, soil physi cists and environmental, ecological, and health scientists. The objective of the Working Group M.O. is to promote research, teaching, and also the exchange of technology concerning the knowledge and the impact of the interactions between minerals-organics and microorganisms on environmental quality, agricultural sustainability, and ecosystem "health". This group is first a scientific group as defined just previously, but it also intends to develop exchange and transfer between scientists and engineers. The first International Meeting organized by Professor P. M. Huang, was held in Edmonton, Canada, in August 1992, where 87 papers were presented by scientists from 20 countries. Following this meeting, a two volume book was edited by P. M. Huang, J. Berthelin, J.-M. Bollag, W. B. McGill, and A. L. Page, entitled "Environmental impact of soil component interaction" : Volume I "Natural and anthropogenic organic-volume II "Metals, other inorganic and microbial activities", and published by c.R.C. Lewis Pub lishers (1995).

Nitrogen Fixation by Free-Living Micro-Organisms

Nitrogen Fixation by Free-Living Micro-Organisms
Author: William Duncan Patterson Stewart
Publisher: CUP Archive
Total Pages: 504
Release: 1975
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9780521207089

This 1976 volume provides information, presented at an international symposium in Edinburgh, on the free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria and blue-green algae. In addition to information on the distribution of the nitrogenase enzyme within these groups, their role in the soil and in aquatic systems is considered, as are the methods of measuring nitrogen fixation.