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Global biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nutrients are increasingly affected by human activities. So far, modeling has been central for our understanding of how this will affect ecosystem functioning and the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nutrients. These models have been forced to adopt a reductive approach built on the flow of carbon and nutrients between pools that are difficult or even impossible to verify with empirical evidence. Furthermore, while some of these models include the response in physiology, ecology and biogeography of primary producers to environmental change, the microbial part of the ecosystem is generally poorly represented or lacking altogether. The principal p...
This book focuses on cold habitat microbes as a potential source of elite enzymes and secondary metabolites to meet the growing demands of the pharmaceutical, food and biotechnological industries. Microbes living in such extremely cold conditions are reported to produce various biomolecules with potential biotechnological applications. The book overviews recent research trends to discover such important biomolecules and also suggests future research directions to discover such elite novel biomolecules. Salient features: Covers studies on various biotic communities and abiotic components of the soil of terrestrial habitats with a focus on cold habitats Discusses various 'Omic' approaches: metagenomics and meta-transcriptomics Lists adaptation strategies adopted by cold-adapted microbes Highlights various biotechnological and industrially important biomolecules produced by cold-adapted microbes Explores the role of microbial biofilm in the degradation of microplastics in cold habitats
This reference book compiles the latest techniques and applications of microbiome engineering. Microbial communities interact dynamically with their hosts, creating a considerable impact on the host and their ecosystem. This book introduces readers to microbiomes and microbiome engineering. It covers topics like omics tools in microbial research, strategies to engineer human microbiomes, the application of synthetic biology to build smart microbes, and the future of microbiome engineering. It includes the application of microbiome engineering in improving human health, livestock, and agricultural productivity. The book is intended for researchers and students in the fields of microbiology and biotechnology.
There is increasing attention to the importance of biodiversity for food security and nutrition, especially above-ground biodiversity such as plants and animals. However, less attention is being paid to the biodiversity beneath our feet, soil biodiversity, which drives many processes that produce food or purify soil and water. This report is the result of an inclusive process involving more than 300 scientists from around the world under the auspices of the FAO’s Global Soil Partnership and its Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative, and the European Commission. It presents concisely the state of knowledge on soil biodiversity, the threats to it, and the solutions that soil biodiversity can provide to problems in different fields. It also represents a valuable contribution to raising awareness of the importance of soil biodiversity and highlighting its role in finding solutions to today's global threats.
This book systematically introduces the fundamentals, preparation technology, state-of-the-art applications, and future development of biomass-derived porous carbon materials. The authors provide a theoretical foundation that demonstrates the microstructure and physicochemical properties of carbon materials. The fabrication methods, including physical activation methods, chemical activation methods, and advances in other new fabrication methods are explicitly described. The book also identifies many potential applications of biomass (especially biomass-derived porous carbon materials), such as supercapacitors, removal of organic pollutants from water, CO2 capture, photocatalytic application, and farmland restoration. The book will be a valuable resource for researchers, scientists, and engineers working in the field of biomass-derived porous carbon materials, carbon resource development, and environmental protection.
Globally, over two thirds of soils are affected by physical, chemical, or biological soil constraints. These constraints cause significant yield loss, and, as such, identifying appropriate management strategies is crucial to ensure future world food production. In order to help agricultural researchers and practitioners better understand soil constraint management, this book comprehensively outlines the occurrence of the major soil constraints and the most appropriate strategies to manage these for sustainable food production. Importantly, it brings together experts from major agricultural regions globally to highlight approaches with the most success in different environmental and socioeconomic regions worldwide.
From heat waves and wildfires to flooding and record droughts, the impacts of climate change are now obvious. While the primary cause is the rise in greenhouse gases mainly from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum, the complete story behind greenhouse gases also involves microbes and what they are doing in natural ecosystems. Although microbes contribute to the problem by producing greenhouse gases, climate change would be even more severe if not for other microbes that consume greenhouse gases. Understanding and solving the biggest environmental problem facing us today depends on the smallest organisms, microbes.
This book examines how predicting the future based on analytical and empirical models is essential for our species' survival, stable organization, and well-being. At a high level, information exchange, mainly through communication between people, fosters a deeper understanding of reality and strengthens human bonds, ultimately contributing to the emergence of societies as new creatures or "superorganisms" with significantly more data to feed those models. Communication is fundamental to the development of complex organisms, the maintenance of internal order, and the propagation of knowledge via cultural packets. The human brain's plasticity, memory, and learning capabilities enable storage a...
This book provides a selection of microbiological methods which are applicable or already applied in regional or national soil quality monitoring programmes. An overview is given of approaches to monitoring, evaluating and managing soil quality (Part I), followed by a selection of methods which are described in sufficient detail to use the book as a practical handbook in the laboratory (Part II). Finally a census is given of the main methods used in over 30 European laboratories. The book is aimed at different levels: soil scientists, technicians, policy makers, land managers and students.