Soil Organic Matter and Biological Activity

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XV

   PDF

2. Introduction Soil Organic Matter — A Perspective on its Nature, Extraction, Turnover and Role in Soil Fertility

   • D. Vaughan, B. G. Ord

   Pages 1-35

3. Influence of Humic Substances on Growth and Physiological Processes

   • D. Vaughan, R. E. Malcolm

   Pages 37-75

4. Influence of Humic Substances on Biochemical Processes in Plants

   • D. Vaughan, R. E. Malcolm, B. G. Ord

   Pages 77-108

5. Phenolic Acids in Soils and their Influence on Plant Growth and Soil Microbial Processes

   • R. D. Hartley, D. C. Whitehead

   Pages 109-149

6. Origin, Nature and Biological Activity of Aliphatic Substances and Growth Hormones Found in Soil

   • J. M. Lynch

   Pages 151-174

7. Soil Enzymes

   • J. N. Ladd

   Pages 175-221

8. The Soil Biomass

   • G. P. Sparling

   Pages 223-262

9. Carbohydrates in Relation to Soil Fertility

   • M. V. Cheshire

   Pages 263-288

10. Soil Nitrogen: Its Extraction, Distribution and Dynamics

    • H. A. Anderson, D. Vaughan

    Pages 289-327

11. Soil Phosphorus

    • K. R. Tate

    Pages 329-377

12. Sulphur in Soils and Plants

    • N. M. Scott

    Pages 379-401

13. Organic Matter and Trace Metals in Soils

    • D. J. Linehan

    Pages 403-421

14. Organic Farming

    • J. W. Parsons

    Pages 423-443

15. Back Matter

    Pages 445-469

    PDF

It has long been recognized that soil organic matter is the key to soil fertility. As a nutrient store it gradually provides essential elements which the soil cannot retain for long in inorganic form. It buffers growing plants against sudden changes in their chemical environment and preserves moisture in times of drought. It keeps the soil in a friable, easily penetrated physical condition, well-aerated and free draining, providing young seedlings with an excellent medium for growth. But it has another property, the nature and extent of which have been the subject of argu­ ment and controversy ever since scientists began to study the soil, and that is its ability to affect growth directly, other than by providing nutrient elements. Any­ one wishing to learn about these effects has been faced with a daunting mass of literature, some confusing, often contradictory, and spread through a multitude of journals. Individual aspects have been covered from time to time in reviews but there has obviously been a need for a modern authoritative text book dealing with the many facets of this subject, so the publication of this volume is timely. The editors and authors are all specialists in their fields, fully familiar with the com­ plex nature of soil organic matter and with the particular difficulties arising in any study of its properties. Where controversies exist they have presented all sides of the argument and have highlighted areas where further work is badly needed.

• behavior
• biomass
• chemistry
• energy
• metabolism
• nitrogen
• nutrition
• plant
• plant growth
• protein
• soil
• tissue
• water

• The Macaulay Institute for Soil Research, Aberdeen, Scotland

  D. Vaughan, R. E. Malcolm

Policies and ethics