Soil Biota : Management in Sustainable Farming Systems

The soil biota is a diverse assemblage of organisms that carry out a wide range of processes that are important for the maintenance of soil fertility and soil health.

The development of sustainable farming systems will depend greatly on the ability to capture the benefits that may be derived from improved management of soil biota.

This will only be achieved through an increased understanding of the soil biota, the functional processes it carries out and how soil and crop management practices affect its activity.

This volume contains a collection of 27 review papers that cover a range of issues and topics concerned with the management of the soil biota.

Emphasis is placed on soil microorganisms and soil macrofauna that are of major importance in agricultural farming systems.

Management issues include: management of introduced soil organisms; managment of existing soil organisms and soil biotic processes; and management strategies to enhance the activities of benificial soil biota in low input farming sytems.

The potential use of soil organisms and/or soil biotic activites as bioindicators of soil quality and crop productivty is also addressed.