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Soil Ecology
Applied Soil Ecology 20 (2002) 263
Book review Soil Ecology Patrick Laveile, Alister V. Spain (Eds.); Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2001, 654 pp., US$ 295.00, hard cover, ISBN 0-7923-7123-2 There has been a longstanding need for a comprehensive book that covers the whole complex field of soil ecology. A range of texts on soil microbiology with a variety of approaches are available, but the last general texts concerning the ecology of soil-inhabiting invertebrates date back to two volumes: Ecology of Soil Animals (1970) and The Distribution and Diversity of Soil Fauna (1976) both written by Wall work and these are now long out of print. Hence, a volume which provides a comprehensive coverage of most aspects of soil ecological structure and function, is a very welcome addition to the literature on soil science. This is a long and detailed book, with a great deal of information, and the first two chapters which take up almost one-third of its total length, address general physical and chemical paedological issues; these include discussions of the processes of soil formation, the physical and chemical soil environment, soil inorganic and organic chemical resources and soil heterogeneity. This section is followed by a general chapter which broadly reviews the activities of soil organisms, in terms of microbial communities, invertebrate communities and their interactions with plant roots and food webs. The fourth and final chapter addresses organic matter decomposition in litter and soil, the plan rhizosphere and reviews the groups of organisms that inhabit soils, including relatively extensive discussions of: the earthworm drilosphere (earthworm burrows) and the termitosphere (termite habitats and communities); these two latter fields are the specialties of the authors. The book is written well, illustrated and referenced, although there are some imbalances in overall
emphasis which reflect the backgrounds and main interests of the authors. Only 27 pages focus on microorganisms, compared with 162 pages which deal with soil-inhabiting invertebrates (eight on microfauna, 23 on mesofauna, 61 on macrofauna, 31 on earthworms and 33 on termites). However, these criticisms should not be taken too seriously, since there are many texts available on soil microbiology and the ecology of soil microorganisms, but very few books that focus on the ecology of soil-inhabiting invertebrates. The only other general criticism of the book is one that it shares with many other recent volumes from a wide range of disciplines. There tends to be a strong focus on recent publications, with relatively little emphasis on some of the older books, such as Soil Biology (1967) by Burgess and Raw, Soil Biology (1950) by Umalut and Soil Zoology (1955) by McE. Kevan, and scientific literature which provided much valuable information on soil biology and the ecology of soil organisms. Of a total of 1673 references cited, 1111 were published since 1980. Notwithstanding these comments, there is no doubt that this is a much-needed well-written and fully-illustrated book which will be essential reading for soil ecologists and highly-recommened reading for other soil scientists. The hard-backed version of the text is expensive, but I understand a much more inexpensive soft-back version will be available soon. I am sure that many readers of Applied Soil Ecology will adopt this volume as a main reference source.
0929-1393/02/$ – see front matter © 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. PII: S 0 9 2 9 - 1 3 9 3 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 4 3 - 4
Clive A. Edwards Entomology and Environmental Science The Ohio State University, 1735 Neil venue Columbus, OH 43210, USA Tel.: +1-614-292-3786; fax: +1-614-292-2180 Accepted 22 March 2002
Book review Soil Ecology Patrick Laveile, Alister V. Spain (Eds.); Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2001, 654 pp., US$ 295.00, hard cover, ISBN 0-7923-7123-2 There has been a longstanding need for a comprehensive book that covers the whole complex field of soil ecology. A range of texts on soil microbiology with a variety of approaches are available, but the last general texts concerning the ecology of soil-inhabiting invertebrates date back to two volumes: Ecology of Soil Animals (1970) and The Distribution and Diversity of Soil Fauna (1976) both written by Wall work and these are now long out of print. Hence, a volume which provides a comprehensive coverage of most aspects of soil ecological structure and function, is a very welcome addition to the literature on soil science. This is a long and detailed book, with a great deal of information, and the first two chapters which take up almost one-third of its total length, address general physical and chemical paedological issues; these include discussions of the processes of soil formation, the physical and chemical soil environment, soil inorganic and organic chemical resources and soil heterogeneity. This section is followed by a general chapter which broadly reviews the activities of soil organisms, in terms of microbial communities, invertebrate communities and their interactions with plant roots and food webs. The fourth and final chapter addresses organic matter decomposition in litter and soil, the plan rhizosphere and reviews the groups of organisms that inhabit soils, including relatively extensive discussions of: the earthworm drilosphere (earthworm burrows) and the termitosphere (termite habitats and communities); these two latter fields are the specialties of the authors. The book is written well, illustrated and referenced, although there are some imbalances in overall
emphasis which reflect the backgrounds and main interests of the authors. Only 27 pages focus on microorganisms, compared with 162 pages which deal with soil-inhabiting invertebrates (eight on microfauna, 23 on mesofauna, 61 on macrofauna, 31 on earthworms and 33 on termites). However, these criticisms should not be taken too seriously, since there are many texts available on soil microbiology and the ecology of soil microorganisms, but very few books that focus on the ecology of soil-inhabiting invertebrates. The only other general criticism of the book is one that it shares with many other recent volumes from a wide range of disciplines. There tends to be a strong focus on recent publications, with relatively little emphasis on some of the older books, such as Soil Biology (1967) by Burgess and Raw, Soil Biology (1950) by Umalut and Soil Zoology (1955) by McE. Kevan, and scientific literature which provided much valuable information on soil biology and the ecology of soil organisms. Of a total of 1673 references cited, 1111 were published since 1980. Notwithstanding these comments, there is no doubt that this is a much-needed well-written and fully-illustrated book which will be essential reading for soil ecologists and highly-recommened reading for other soil scientists. The hard-backed version of the text is expensive, but I understand a much more inexpensive soft-back version will be available soon. I am sure that many readers of Applied Soil Ecology will adopt this volume as a main reference source.
0929-1393/02/$ – see front matter © 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. PII: S 0 9 2 9 - 1 3 9 3 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 4 3 - 4
Clive A. Edwards Entomology and Environmental Science The Ohio State University, 1735 Neil venue Columbus, OH 43210, USA Tel.: +1-614-292-3786; fax: +1-614-292-2180 Accepted 22 March 2002