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Sulfur in agriculture
150 ganic matter dynamics is presented in Chapter 12. This includes the principles involved in developing useful models as well as specific examples of models describing various organic matter transformations. Soil management as it affects soil organic matter stability is discussed in Chapter 13. This chapter stresses the fact that if we are to maintain long-term productivity of our agricultural soils, we must conserve our valuable organic matter resource. Finally, Chapter 14 outlines several environmentally sensitive areas which to some degree relate to how well we manage our soil organic matter resources. These include maintenance oi soil structure in arable soils, urban waste management, introduction of xenobiotics into the environment and reclamation of disturbed sites. In general, this is a good book in which most soil scientists would find something of interest. There are a number of editorial errors throughout the book, but they certainly did not make the book unreadable. The literature review appears to be quite thorough, and citations to other major reviews of related areas are provided in most chapters. Dr. Tate expressed the hope that this book would spur more research into soil organic matter processes, and the book should provide a reference point in this respect. MICHAELD. MULLEN University o[Arkansas Department of Agronomy Fayetteville, AR 72701 U.S.A.
REFERENCE
Stevenson,F.J., 1982. HumusChemistry.John Wiley& Sons, New York,443 pp.
SULFUR Sulfur in Agriculture: M.A. Tabatabai (Editor), (Monograph No. 27), ASA, CSSA, SSSA, 1986, Madison, WI, 688 pp., hardcover, $ 52.00, ISBN: 089118-089-3.
When asked to review this book I accepted immediately. Who can resist a free book, particularly when it is as comprehensive as those that originate from the American Societyof Agronomy? On reading the book I am glad I accepted
151 the request to review it. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the sulfur nutrition of agricultural plants. This is the part of the review that will appear in the advertising material. The book can be divided into three sections. Chapters 1-9, 23 and 24 are concerned with the processes involved in the cycling of sulfur in soils, plants and animals. Chapters 10-15 are concerned with regional studies of sulfur deficiencies with, as expected, a decidedly North American bias. Chapters 16-22 are concerned with the diagnosis and correction of sulfur deficiencies. The strength of the book is its comprehensiveness, although like all multi-authored books there has obviously been a long gestation period. There are very few references later than 1983. You can pick out the delinquent authors in this book - - they are the ones with the most recent references. The weaknesses of the book are (1) the duplication between chapters (2) the North American bias and (3) the unevenness of the chapters. As in all multi-authored books the chapters range from critical reviews to mere listings of findings. There are very few bibliographic or typing errors in the book. All of the references I looked for were listed in the reference section. On matters of content as in all monographs, there are many conclusions that could be contended. I have selected two such conclusions to highlight. First, I cannot agree with the assessment on p. 151 that "symbiotic N2 fixation is very sensitive to S deficiency and that the growth of S-deficient legumes may be limited by N supply". The positive interaction between sulfur and nitrogen on legume growth, the effect of sulfur in increasing nitrogen concentrations in shoots of both legumes and non-legumes, the effect of increasing sulfur supply in increasing nodule weight in a similar proportion to effects on shoot weight, all support the conclusion that increasing sulfur supply increases nitrogen fixation indirectly by increasing host plant growth. The second conclusion that I disagree with is the view that DRIS is a major advance ( see Jones, Chapter 19 ). I have not seen data that indicates that DRIS enables diagnosis of deficiencies when consideration of the concentration of the nutrient alone within the plant does not. Both of these criticisms are personal hobby-horses. The book is an excellent compilation of the role of sulfur in agriculture (a second quote for the advertising men). If you are interested in sulfur in agriculture, you should buy this book. A.D. ROBSON Soil Science and Plant Nutrition School of Agriculture The University of Western Australia Nedlands, WA 6009 Australia
REFERENCE
Stevenson,F.J., 1982. HumusChemistry.John Wiley& Sons, New York,443 pp.
SULFUR Sulfur in Agriculture: M.A. Tabatabai (Editor), (Monograph No. 27), ASA, CSSA, SSSA, 1986, Madison, WI, 688 pp., hardcover, $ 52.00, ISBN: 089118-089-3.
When asked to review this book I accepted immediately. Who can resist a free book, particularly when it is as comprehensive as those that originate from the American Societyof Agronomy? On reading the book I am glad I accepted
151 the request to review it. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the sulfur nutrition of agricultural plants. This is the part of the review that will appear in the advertising material. The book can be divided into three sections. Chapters 1-9, 23 and 24 are concerned with the processes involved in the cycling of sulfur in soils, plants and animals. Chapters 10-15 are concerned with regional studies of sulfur deficiencies with, as expected, a decidedly North American bias. Chapters 16-22 are concerned with the diagnosis and correction of sulfur deficiencies. The strength of the book is its comprehensiveness, although like all multi-authored books there has obviously been a long gestation period. There are very few references later than 1983. You can pick out the delinquent authors in this book - - they are the ones with the most recent references. The weaknesses of the book are (1) the duplication between chapters (2) the North American bias and (3) the unevenness of the chapters. As in all multi-authored books the chapters range from critical reviews to mere listings of findings. There are very few bibliographic or typing errors in the book. All of the references I looked for were listed in the reference section. On matters of content as in all monographs, there are many conclusions that could be contended. I have selected two such conclusions to highlight. First, I cannot agree with the assessment on p. 151 that "symbiotic N2 fixation is very sensitive to S deficiency and that the growth of S-deficient legumes may be limited by N supply". The positive interaction between sulfur and nitrogen on legume growth, the effect of sulfur in increasing nitrogen concentrations in shoots of both legumes and non-legumes, the effect of increasing sulfur supply in increasing nodule weight in a similar proportion to effects on shoot weight, all support the conclusion that increasing sulfur supply increases nitrogen fixation indirectly by increasing host plant growth. The second conclusion that I disagree with is the view that DRIS is a major advance ( see Jones, Chapter 19 ). I have not seen data that indicates that DRIS enables diagnosis of deficiencies when consideration of the concentration of the nutrient alone within the plant does not. Both of these criticisms are personal hobby-horses. The book is an excellent compilation of the role of sulfur in agriculture (a second quote for the advertising men). If you are interested in sulfur in agriculture, you should buy this book. A.D. ROBSON Soil Science and Plant Nutrition School of Agriculture The University of Western Australia Nedlands, WA 6009 Australia