Life in the Soil
Title | Life in the Soil PDF eBook |
Author | James B. Nardi |
Publisher | University of Chicago Press |
Total Pages | 316 |
Release | 2009-09-15 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 0226568539 |
Leonardo da Vinci once mused that “we know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot,” an observation that is as apt today as it was five hundred years ago. The biological world under our toes is often unexplored and unappreciated, yet it teems with life. In one square meter of earth, there lives trillions of bacteria, millions of nematodes, hundreds of thousands of mites, thousands of insects and worms, and hundreds of snails and slugs. But because of their location and size, many of these creatures are as unfamiliar and bizarre to us as anything found at the bottom of the ocean. Lavishly illustrated with nearly three hundred color illustrations and masterfully-rendered black and white drawings throughout, Life in the Soil invites naturalists and gardeners alike to dig in and discover the diverse community of creatures living in the dirt below us. Biologist and acclaimed natural history artist James B. Nardibegins with an introduction to soil ecosystems, revealing the unseen labors of underground organisms maintaining the rich fertility of the earth as they recycle nutrients between the living and mineral worlds. He then introduces readers to a dazzling array of creatures: wolf spiders with glowing red eyes, snails with 120 rows of teeth, and 10,000-year-old fungi, among others. Organized by taxon, Life in the Soil covers everything from slime molds and roundworms to woodlice and dung beetles, as well as vertebrates from salamanders to shrews. The book ultimately explores the crucial role of soil ecosystems in conserving the worlds above and below ground. A unique and illustrative introduction to the many unheralded creatures that inhabit our soils and shape our environment aboveground, Life in the Soil will inform and enrich the naturalist in all of us.
Life in a Bucket of Soil
Title | Life in a Bucket of Soil PDF eBook |
Author | Alvin Silverstein |
Publisher | Courier Corporation |
Total Pages | 96 |
Release | 2013-06-10 |
Genre | Juvenile Nonfiction |
ISBN | 0486320227 |
Grade-schoolers learn how ants, snails, slugs, beetles, earthworms, spiders, and other subterranean creatures live, breed, interact, move about, defend themselves, and more.
Out of the Earth
Title | Out of the Earth PDF eBook |
Author | Daniel Hillel |
Publisher | Univ of California Press |
Total Pages | 358 |
Release | 1992-09-30 |
Genre | Nature |
ISBN | 9780520080805 |
A moving tribute to the physical and spiritual properties of nature's richestelement by one of the world's leading soil conservationists.
Know Soil, Know Life
Title | Know Soil, Know Life PDF eBook |
Author | David L. Lindbo |
Publisher | |
Total Pages | 0 |
Release | 2012 |
Genre | Feeds |
ISBN | 9780891189541 |
Audience: Students studying environmental science or participating in an Envirothon or Science Olympiad will find Know Soil, Know Life is an easily accessible resource. Undergraduate students in introductory ecology and environmental science classes will have a manageable soils textbook. Scientists in related disciplines wildlife, forestry, geology, hydrology, biology, zoology will enjoy this engaging introduction to soils.
Secrets of the Soil
Title | Secrets of the Soil PDF eBook |
Author | Peter Tompkins |
Publisher | books catalog |
Total Pages | 472 |
Release | 1989 |
Genre | Agricultural ecology |
ISBN | 9788129105639 |
This book,a fascinating companion to The Secret Life of Plants by the same authors, tells the story of the innovative, nontraditional, often surprising things that certain scientists, farmers, and mystics are doing to prevent the slow degradation of our planet. For example, using the techniques of Rudolf Steiner s biodynamic agriculture with its reliance on ethereal forces from the planets,Dan Carlson s growth stimulating Sonic Bloom, and rock dust fertilizer to revitalize depleted soils; or gardening with the help of truly amazing new technologies to reverse serious agricultural problems.The authors illustrate,in a truly enlightening and convincing manner, the pivotal role that the natural elements play in ourlives, and the necessity of cultivating and sustaining a relationship with one most basic of them the soil.
Grow Your Soil!
Title | Grow Your Soil! PDF eBook |
Author | Diane Miessler |
Publisher | Storey Publishing, LLC |
Total Pages | 177 |
Release | 2020-02-18 |
Genre | Gardening |
ISBN | 1635862078 |
Growing awareness of the importance of soil health means that microbes are on the minds of even the most casual gardeners. After all, anyone who has ever attempted to plant a thriving patch of flowers or vegetables knows that what you grow is only as good as the soil you grow it in. It is possible to create and maintain rich, dark, crumbly soil that’s teeming with life, using very few inputs and a no-till, no-fertilizer approach. Certified permaculture designer and lifelong gardener Diane Miessler presents the science of soil health in an engaging, entertaining voice geared for the backyard grower. She shares the techniques she has used — including cover crops, constant mulching, and a simple-but-supercharged recipe for compost tea — to transform her own landscape from a roadside dump for broken asphalt to a garden that stops traffic, starting from the ground up.
Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life
Title | Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life PDF eBook |
Author | David R. Montgomery |
Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company |
Total Pages | 320 |
Release | 2017-05-09 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 0393608336 |
Finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award “A call to action that underscores a common goal: to change the world from the ground up.”—Dan Barber, author of The Third Plate For centuries, agricultural practices have eroded the soil that farming depends on, stripping it of the organic matter vital to its productivity. Now conventional agriculture is threatening disaster for the world’s growing population. In Growing a Revolution, geologist David R. Montgomery travels the world, meeting farmers at the forefront of an agricultural movement to restore soil health. From Kansas to Ghana, he sees why adopting the three tenets of conservation agriculture—ditching the plow, planting cover crops, and growing a diversity of crops—is the solution. When farmers restore fertility to the land, this helps feed the world, cool the planet, reduce pollution, and return profitability to family farms.