Bücher der Reihe Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences

The Third International Symposium on Nitrogen Fixation with Non-Legumes, Helsinki, September 2-8, 1984

The use of organic residues as a means of maintaining and increasing soil fertility is of long-standing. The trend to conserve energy has led scientists to study the minimal tillage system, to find ways of replacing conventional inorganic fertilizers with natural organic prod ucts or microbial preparations, and to develop new composting methods.

The mission of the International Fertilizer Development Center is to increase food production through the improvement of fertilizers and fertilizer practices for the developing countries with special emphasis on tropical and subtropical agriculture.

Proceedings of the Second Working Group Meeting of the Frontier Project on Nitrogen Fixation in Rice held in Faisalabad, Pakistan, 13-15 October 1996

In 2002, sixty international specialists met to discuss problems of high P-unavailability as a soil nutrient for crops, and the hazards of increased phosphate input to aquatic habitats from industrial and mining activities, sewage disposal, detergents, and other sources.

Suitable for scientists working on biological nitrogen fixation, soil microbial ecology and legume production, this volume reports the results of an FAO/IAEA Co-ordinated Research Programme (1992-1996), whose main objective was to develop molecular biological methods to study rhizobial ecology.

Report of an FAO/IAEA Technical Expert Meeting held in Rome, 13-15 March 2001

The use of organic residues as a means of maintaining and increasing soil fertility is of long-standing. The trend to conserve energy has led scientists to study the minimal tillage system, to find ways of replacing conventional inorganic fertilizers with natural organic prod ucts or microbial preparations, and to develop new composting methods.

Proceedings of the Workshop `Soil and Water Quality at Different Scales' held 7-9 August 1996, Wageningen, The Netherlands

Emphasis in agricultural production has shifted from mere quantity to quality products. Therefore, balanced crop nutrition increases crop quality, safeguards natural resources and brings benefit to the farmer.

Broader in scope than classic references, this volume looks at the rhizosphere as a holistic entity by incorporating concepts from molecular biology. The text also identifies concepts that could lead to new management methods in ecological engineering.

Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Plant-Interactions at Low pH, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 12--16 September 1993

In an era where climate change, natural catastrophes and land degradation are major issues, the conservation of soil and vegetation in mountainous or sloping regions has become an international priority. How to avoid substrate mass movementthroughlandslidesanderosionusingsustainableandecologicallysoundtechniquesisrapidlybecominga scienti?c domain where knowledge from many different ?elds is required. These proceedings bring together papers from geotechnical and civil engineers, biologists, ecologists and foresters, who discuss current problems in slope stabilityresearch,andhowtoaddressthoseproblemsusinggroundbio-andeco-engineeringtechniques.Aselection of papers were previously published in Special Editions of Plant and Soil (2005), volume 278, 1-179, and in the Journal of Geotechnical and Geological Engineering (2006), volume 24, 427-498. Ground bioengineering methods integrate civil engineering techniques with natural materials to obtain fast, effective and economic methods of protecting, restoring and maintaining the environment whereas eco-engineering has been de?ned as a long-term ecological strategy to manage a site with regard to natural or man-made hazards. Studies on slope instability, erosion, soil hydrology, mountain ecology, land use and restoration and how to mitigate theseproblemsusingvegetationarepresentedbybothscientistsandpractitioners.Papersencompassmanyaspectsof this multidisciplinary subject, including the mechanisms and modelling of root reinforcement and the development of decision support systems, areas where signi?cant advances have been made in recent years.

Soil acidity is a major limitation to crop production in many parts of the world. Plant growth inhibition results from a combination of factors, including aluminum, manganese, and hydrogen ion toxicities and deficiencies of essential elements, particularly calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and molybdenum. Agricultural management practices and acid precipitation have increased acid inputs into the ecosystem and heightened concern about soil acidity problems. While application of lime has proved to be effective in ameliorating surface soil acidity in many areas, significant soil acidity problems still exist. Scientists from Alberta, Canada, recognized the need to provide a forum for researchers from different disciplines to exchange information and ideas on solving problems of plant growth in acid soils. As a result of their efforts, the First International Symposium on Plant-Soil Interactions at Low pH was held at Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, in July 1987. In many acid soil areas, liming materials are not readily available, the cost may be prohibitive, or subsoil acidity cannot be corrected by surface application of lime. New management approaches involving both the plant and the soil are needed in these situations. Progress has been made in the selection and breeding of acid-tolerant plants. However, continued progress will be limited by our lack of understanding of the physiological and biochemical basis of differential acidity tolerance among plants.

In the 100 years since the legume-Rhizobium symbiotic nitrogen fixation interaction was first described, interest in this field has grown rapidly. The types of studies have been cyclical in nature, involving a cross-section of disciplines. The availability of cheap nitrogenous fertilizers caused much of the biological nitrogen fixation research to become more theoretical in the developed world. The high cost of energy, coupled with environmental concerns and the interest in sustainable agriculture, has stimulated research in symbiotic nitrogen fixation. The development of modern genetic techniques has resulted in interdisciplinary research on plant-microbe interactions controlling nitrogen fixation. This has resulted in a better understanding of environmental factors influencing the nodulation process, chemical signalling between the symbiotic partners and the nature of the specificity between host plant and microsymbiotant. This volume summarizes the diverse research efforts in biological nitrogen fixation by presenting a collection of papers in the areas of physiology and metabolism, taxonomy and evolution, genetics and ecology.

Iron is a major constituent of the earth crust. However, under alkaline conditions commonly found in arid and semi-arid environments iron becomes unavailable to plants. When plants are affected by a shortage of iron their leaves become yellow (chlorotic), and both plant growth and crop yield are reduced. The roots of plants affected by iron deficiency may develop a series of responses directed to improve iron uptake, such as increased proton excretion and iron reduction capabilities or excretion of iron chela tors called siderophores. Iron deficiency affects major crops worldwide, including some of major economic importance such as fruit trees and others. Correction of iron deficiency is usually implemented through costly application of synthetic chelates. Since these correction methods are very expensive, the competitivity of farmers is often reduced and iron deficiency may become a limiting factor for the maintenance, introduction or expansion of some crops. In spite of the many years devoted to the study of iron deficiency, the knowledge of iron deficiency in soils and plants is still fragmentary in many aspects. We have only incomplete information on the processes at the molecular level that make some plant species and cultivars unable to take and utilize iron from the soil, whereas other plants grow satisfactorily under the same conditions.

Plant Nutrition - From Genetic Engineering to Field Practice, the 12th International Colloquium on Plant Nutrition, is the latest in a series which began in 1954. Early meetings were mainly concerned with the practical problems of soil fertility, with soil assessment, fertilizer requirements and methods of analysis. As the colloquia have progressed, the emphasis has slowly changed. The practical problems are still important, but there is increasing emphasis on plant physiology, plant biochemistry, membrane biochemistry, and even on the chemistry of genes which control the proteins which transfer nutrient ions to the inside of cells. The meetings therefore provide a valuable opportunity for each half of the science of plant nutrition to interact with, and learn from the other half. This volume begins with five papers which review current knowledge in important fields: the rhizosphere, molecular biology, electron microscopy, location and function of elements in vivo, and modelling nutrient responses in the field. These themes are continued in groups of shorter papers which follow. In addition, there are sections on nutrient dynamics and partitioning, diagnostic techniques, plant survival strategies, mycorrhizas, and on nutrients such as P, N, S, K, Ca, Mg, and micronutrients. A large section is devoted specifically to boron - reflecting the considerable current interest in this element. In total there are 177 refereed papers providing both a broad overview and a detailed picture of the latest developments in pure and applied plant nutrition.

The International Society of Root Research sponsored the Symposium "e;Root Demographics and Their Efficiencies in Sustainable Agriculture, GrassLands and Forest Ecosystems,"e; July 14-18, 1996, at the Madren Conference Center, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA. The conference was a continuation of a series of international symposiums on root research held every three to four years. Symposiums have also been held twice in Vienna, Austria, and once in Uppsala, Sweden, and Almaty, Kazahkstan prior to the meeting at Clemson University. The sponsoring society has made a particular effort in these symposia to include root scientists from the former Soviet Union because of the importance of exchanging information on a worldwide basis. This symposium continued and promoted that effort by providing travel grants to several scientists from that region; however, funds for that purpose were limited. Therefore, in compiling these proceedings, a number of papers from scientists from the former Soviet Union and former Warsaw Pack countries have been included even though the scientists were not actually present for the SymPOSIum.