Life in the Soil

E-book from $5.00 to $25.00 (about e-books)

ISBN: 9780226568539

Acknowledgements
How to Use This Book
Preface

PART ONE. THE MARRIAGE OF THE MINERAL WORLD AND THE ORGANIC WORLD

A. Introduction
B. How Soil Forms Rocks and Weather
C. Plant Roots and Their Bacterial Partners
D. Plant Roots and Their Bacterial Partners
E. Where Roots Meet Rocks and Minerals
F. Plant Roots and Their Animal Partners
     1.  Life in a Dark Densely Populated World
     2.  Soil Fertility and the Formation of Humus
     3.  The Importance of Nitrogen
     4.  The Contribution of Animals to Soil Structure
     5.  Diggers and Thrillers of Soil
G. How Plants and Animals Affect the Layers of a Soil

PART TWO. MEMBERS OF THE SOIL COMMUNITY

A. Microbes
     1.  Eubacteria and Archaebacteria
     2.  Actinomycetes
     3.  Algae
     4.  Fungi
     5.  Chytrids, Hyphochitrids, Oomycetes
     6.  Lichens
     7.  Slime Molds
     8.  Protozoa

Animal Kingdom
B. Invertebrates
     a.  Animals Without Backbones of Jointed Legs
     1.  Flatworms
     2.  Roundworms and Potworms
     3.  Earthworms
     4.  Land Leeches
     5.  Rotifers
     6.  Snails and Slugs
     7.  Tardigrades
     8.  Onychophrans
     b.  Arthropods Other Than Insects
     1.  Mites and Springtails
     2.  Proturans and Diplurans
     3.  Myriapods
     4.  Spiders
     5.  Daddy Longlegs
     6.  Psuedoscorpions
     7.  True Scorpions, Windscorpions, Whipscorpions, and Schizomids
     8.  Microwhipscorpions
     9.  Ricinuleids
     10. Woodlice
     11. Crayfish
     c.  Insects
     1.  Jumping Bristletails and Silverfish
     2.  Earwigs
     3.  Cockroaches
     4.  Camel Crickets and Mole Crickets
     5.  Short-horned Grasshoppers
     6.  Termites
     7.  Thrips
     8.  Big-eyed Bugs and Burrower Bugs
     9. Aphids, Phylloxerans, and Coccoids
     10. Cicadas and Rhipicerid Beetles
     11. Rove Beetles and Ground Beetles
     12. Tiger Beetles
     13. Short-winged Mold Beetles
     14. Featherwing Beetles
     15. Sap Beetles
     16. Antlike Stone Beetles
     17. Minute Fungus Beetles
     18. Ptilodactylid Beetles
     19. Glowworms, Fireflies, and Lighteningbugs
     20. Soldier Beetles
     21. Dung Beetles
     22. Carrion Beetles, Burying Beetles, and Hister Beetles
     23. Wireworms and Clickbeetles
     24. Beetles of Rotten Logs
     25. Scarabs, Weevils, and Their Grubs
     26. Variegated Mud-loving Beetles
     27. Fungus Beetles
     28. Scorpionflies
     29. Antlions
     30. Caterpillars and Moths
     31. March Flies
     32. Midges and Biting Midges
     33. Moth Flies
     34. Snipe Flies
     35. Robber flies
     36. Bee Flies
     37. Long-legged Flies
     38. Picture-winged Flies
     39. Root-maggot Flies
     40. Gall Wasps
     41. Parasitic Wasps
     42. Digger Bees and Velvet Ants
     43. Digger Wasps
     44. Ants
C. Vertebrates
     a.  Vertebrates Other Than Mammals
     1. Salamanders
     2. Toads
     3. Caecilians
     4.  Lizards
     5.  Snakes
     6.  Turtles and Tortoises
     7.  Birds
     b.  Mammals
     1.  Woodchucks
     2.  Badgers
     3.  Prairie Dogs
     4.  Ground Squirrels
     5.  Moles
     6.  Shrews
     7.  Pocket Gophers
     8.  Kangaroo Rats

PART THREE. WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CREATURES OF THE SOIL

     1.  Preventing Erosion
     2.  Avoiding Excessive Use of Fertilizers
     3.  Effects of Acid Rain
     4.  Avoiding salt-Encrusted Soils
     5.  Maintaining Soil Structure
     6.  Discouraging Invasion of Soils by Exotic Species
     7.  Composting as an Antidote to Soil Abuse

Collecting and Observing Life of the Soil
Glossary
Further Reading
Index