Soil Nitrogen Ecology

This book highlights the latest discoveries about the nitrogen cycle in the soil. It introduces the concept of nitrogen fixation and covers important aspects of nitrogen in soil and ecology such as its distribution and occurrence, soil microflora and fauna and their role in N-fixation. The importance of plant growth-promoting microbes for a sustainable agriculture, e.g. arbuscular mycorrhizae in N-fixation, is discussed as well as perspectives of metagenomics, microbe-plant signal transduction in N-ecology and related aspects.This book enables the reader to bridge the main gaps in knowledge and carefully presents perspectives on the ecology of biotransformations of nitrogen in soil.

Part I: Nitrogen physiology and ecology.-  Chapter 1:    Physiology and distribution of Nitrogen in soils.- Chapter 2: Ecophysiology of nitrogen in symbiotic relationships of plants and microorganisms.- Chapter 3: Ecological perspectives on soil microbial community involved in N-cycling.- Chapter 4: Pedological assessment of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen contents in wetland rice ecosystems of Majuli river island, Assam, India.- Part II: Nitrogen cycle and pathway.- Chapter 5: Functional Nitrogen in Rhizosphere.- Chapter 6: Potential contribution of soil microflora and fauna in Nitrogen cycle: A comprehensive study.- Chapter 7: Unraveling microbial nitrogen pathway in rhizosphere.- Chapter 8: Role of root exudates on different processes of nitrogen cycle in rhizosphere.- Part III: Techniques and applications.- Chapter 9: Techniques for improving nitrogen use efficiency in rice.- Chapter 10: Tools for characterization of nitrogen fixing microbes.- Chapter 11:Biopriming is emerging as a supplemental strategy for improving nitrogen use efficiency of crop species.- Chapter 12:    Overview of the role of nitrogen in copper pollution and bioremediation mediated by plant-microbe interactions.- Part IV: Metagenomics.- Chapter 13: Metagenomics for improving soil fertility.- Chapter 14: Soil microbial diversity and metagenomics.- Part V: Bacteria in nitrogen fixation.- Chapter 15: Beneficial effects of Nitrogen fixing bacteria for agriculture of the future.- Chapter 16: Functional Diversity of Nitrogen-Fixing Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria-The Story so Far.- Chapter 17: Bacterial mutants for enhanced nitrogen fixation.- Chapter 18: Perspectives of nitrogen fixing Bacillus spp.- Chapter 19: Quorum Sensing Enhances Nitrogen Uptake In Plants.- Part VI: Fungi in nitrogen fixation.- Chapter 20: Fungi and nitrogen cycle: symbiotic relationship, mechanism and significance.- Chapter 21: Arbuscular Mycorrhizae in Sustainable Plant Nitrogen Nutrition: Mechanisms and Impact.- Chapter 22: Nitrogen fixing fungi for development of biofertilizer and future strategies.- Chapter 23:    Iron toxicity and its relation to nitrogen and phosphorus availability in ectomycorrhizal fungi.- Part VII: Algae in nitrogen fixation.- Chapter 24: Role of Algae in soil nitrogen fixation.- Chapter 25: Role of cyanobacteria in rhizospheric nitrogen fixation.- Chapter 26: Molecular aspects and oxygen relations of nitrogen fixation in cyanobacteria.

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