Advances in Soil Microbiology: Recent Trends and Future Prospects

This book covers a variety of issues related to soil microbial diversity, methods used to study them, and their role in selected biogeochemical cycles, plant growth and ecosystem services. The science of dealing with microbes has become an essential aspect of pursuing sustainable ecology. Microbes found in extreme environments, their diversity and abundance are a fascinating subject of study. Most interestingly, soil microbes, which play a critical part in organizing the biosphere, cycling the elements, and producing nutrients for ecological food chains, fulfill the most promising role in the ecological functioning of our planet. As such, understanding these microbes and their diverse population, their metabolism and functions in various ecosystems, exploring novel potential strains and developing strategies to harness and manipulate their activities is imperative, and can create better and sustainable living conditions across the globe. The recent trend of exploring microbes from diverse environments and evaluating their potential is rapidly progressing in terms of research, industrial innovation and technological advances. Above all, there is a fundamental need to search for and research soil, our planet's most bountiful resource, in an attempt to identify novel microbes.