Soil Organic Matter: Biological and Ecological Effects

This text provides a survey of the impact of the soil organic component, living as well as non-living portions, on the total ecosystem. Biological and ecological implications are stressed. The primary topics are the nature and source of fixed carbon in the soil ecosystem and the importance of biological transformations of these compounds on above ground and below ground communities; examination of the microbiological mediators of soil organic matter transformations; the implications of soil organic matter on nutrient cycling processes, soil structure, and metal mobility; and relationship of soil organic matter to solutions of current environmental pollution and management difficulties.