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Soil Microarthropods and Nutrient Cycling

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Environment, Climate, Plant and Vegetation Growth

Abstract

Soil microarthropods are soil macrofauna which help in assisting soil quality, increasing soil carbon and has a major role in soil biogeochemical cycles. Even though the importance of soil microarthropod groups is studied, their role in soil biogeochemical cycles and soil food webs is not well understood compared to other organisms. In this chapter we explain the importance of soil microarthropods as important components of soil biogeochemical cycles. The role of soil microarthropods in soil soil food webs and biogeochemical cycles is also explained. Moreover, the relationship between soil microarthropods, nutrient cycles and ecosystem management is examined to elucidate the importance of these organisms in soil ecosystems. As climate change is a major issue which has relation to soil biogeochemical cycles, the connection between soil microarthropods, biogeochemical cycles and climate change is discussed. Finally, research gaps are identified in soil biogeochemical cycle related microarthropod research, and important research areas related to this field are proposed. We believe that this chapter will be significant as a good reference related to soil microarthropods, biogeochemical cycles and climate change nexus.

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Acknowledgements

The first author thank School of Environmental Studies, CUSAT for providing facilities for conducting research. The work was completed with the financial support from UGC in the form of UGC SRF fellowship from Government of India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala, Kochi, India

    Gopakumar Lakshmi

  2. National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan, Nigeria

    Bernard N. Okafor

  3. Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Portici, Italy

    Donato Visconti

Authors
  1. Gopakumar Lakshmi
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  2. Bernard N. Okafor
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  3. Donato Visconti
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Donato Visconti .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hainan Key Laboratory For Sustaianable Utilization of Tropical Bioresource, College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, China

    Shah Fahad

  2. Department of Agronomy, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Mirza Hasanuzzaman

  3. Department of Agriculture, The University of Swabi, Ambar, Pakistan

    Mukhtar Alam

  4. Department of Agriculture, The University of Swabi, Ambar, Pakistan

    Hidayat Ullah

  5. Department of Agriculture, The University of Swabi, Ambar, Pakistan

    Muhammad Saeed

  6. The University of Swabi, Ambar, Pakistan

    Imtiaz Ali Khan

  7. Department of Agriculture, The University of Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

    Muhammad Adnan

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Lakshmi, G., Okafor, B.N., Visconti, D. (2020). Soil Microarthropods and Nutrient Cycling. In: Fahad, S., et al. Environment, Climate, Plant and Vegetation Growth. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49732-3_18

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