Measuring and Assessing the Biological Health of Soils

One of the most important topics in soil science is understanding the relationship between soil biodiversity and soil ecosystem function. This relies on techniques able to accurately identify different soil organisms and how they interact in the soil microbiome.

Measuring and assessing the biological health of soils provides a comprehensive overview of the range of techniques used to assess microbial/faunal diversity and activity in soils and its impact on key ecological processes. The book also reviews how biological indicators can be integrated into soil health testing programmes to improve the quality of agricultural, grassland and forest soils.

The book builds on a successful earlier volume published by Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing: Advances in measuring soil health (2021).

Dr Jeanette Norton is Professor of Soil Microbiology in the Department of Plants, Soils and Climate at Utah State University, USA. She is a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America. Professor Norton is internationally known for her research on ways of analysing the soil microbiome, including its role in nitrogen and carbon cycling.

Dr Josh Schimel is Professor of Soil Ecology in the Faculty of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology at the University of California-Santa Barbara, USA. Professor Schimel is Co-Editor in Chief of Soil Biology and Biochemistry. His research focuses on role of soil microbes in controlling ecosystem-scale processes.

Dr Zoë Lindo is Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. Professor Lindo is Co-Chair of the FAO International Initiative on Soil Biodiversity (NETSOB) and Editor-in-Chief of Pedobiologia: Journal Of Soil Ecology as well as being an acknowledged expert on soil biodiversity and its impact on ecosystem function.

Dr Paolo Nannipieri is Emeritus Professor at the University of Florence (Firenze), Italy. He has authored/co-authored around 250 publications and has edited eight books, including the 3rd edition of Modern Soil Microbiology. Dr Nannipieri is the Editor-in-Chief of Biology and Fertility of Soils and member of the Editorial Board of Arid Soil Research and Rehabilitation. He has been the International Representative of the Italian Society of Soil Science at IUSS and president of the Italian Society of Agricultural Chemistry and of the Commission Soil Biology of the IUSS.

Professor Bruce Hungate directs the Center for Ecosystem Science & Society (Ecoss) at Northern Arizona University, where he is a Regents’ Professor of Ecosystem Science and the Frances B. McAllister Chair in Community, Culture & the Environment. He co-founded NAU’s Professional Science Master’s in Climate Science & Solutions and has been recognized as an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the American Academy of Microbiology.