138 Book Review/Applied Soil Ecology 2 (1995) 137-139

Soil Biota

Soil Biota: Management in Sustainable Farming Sys- tems, C.E. Pankhurst, B.M. Doube, V.V.S.R. Gupta and P.R. Grace (Editors), CSIRO, Melbourne, Vic., 1994, 262 pp. Aus. $95, ISBN 0 643 05599 1.

This volume contains 27 papers presented at a work- shop held in Adelaide, Australia in March 1994 under the auspices of the OECD Cooperative Research Pro- ject on Biological Resource Management.

In their introduction the editors express the objective of the workshop as being to 'provide insight into the need for, and approaches to, the development of land management practices that capture and exploit the ben- eficial activities of the soil biota and soil biotic proc- esses'. This is a timely theme to address; it brings together two themes which have dominated agro-bio- logical debate through the preparations for, and the responses to, the UNCED Meeting in Rio - - namely the functional significance of biodiversity and the bio- logical basis of sustainable agriculture.

Debates on biodiversity tend to focus on trees, birds, butterflies and mammals; lowly organisms such as earthworms, collembola, fungi or bacteria rarely get a mention. But soil ecologists know that these organisms are essential to maintain such ecosystem functions as nutrient cycling, soil organic matter status, plant health etc - - don't we ? The question mark hangs over our uncertainty in responding to the challenge of managing the soil biota in such a way that a given management input will lead to a predictable and desirable soil fertil- ity output. As one who feels the pressure of this chal- lenge I was excited by the objective of the volume and by the list of distinguished authors brought together to address the issue.

First, some facts and figures: the book is divided into four sections: management of introduced organisms (seven papers): management of existing biota and processes ( 11 papers) ; management to enhance activ- ities of existing soil biota (three papers) ; and biological indicators of soil quality and crop productivity (six papers). The majority of papers are reviews of the existing state of the science, with perhaps only five clearly classifiable as reports on specific contemporary research. Twelve of the chapters are authored by sci- entists from the host country and the remainder are from

a range of countries largely restricted to the Northern Temperate zone.

Let me say straight away that as a source-book, as a means of bringing oneself up-to-date on the subject, this book is first class. The standard of the reviews is consistently high. What is particularly pleasing is the attention that has been given to structure. The consid- erable amount of information in each chapter is, almost without exception, presented in an organised form that makes for easy reading, and even more importantly, clarifies the significance and import of the data. Many authors also give a good historical context to their dis- cussion of current status. I detect good editorial guid- ance here. The book will be a valuable reference for university courses as well as research scientists.

The book also indicates just how far the discipline of soil ecology has advanced in the last decade. The subject has moved with confidence out of the method- ological obsessions of the past and is now embarked on a vigorous period of experimentation and practical application. The work summarised in these papers is ingenious, rigorous and often exciting. Topics covered include control of soil borne disease with introduced organisms, mechanisms of inoculation of soil with ben- eficial microorganisms, earthworms and other fauna, interactions between biota including dispersion of ben- eficial microorganisms through the agency of fauna, detritus food chains, modelling of decomposition and other biological processes, effects of management prac- tices on soil populations and processes and concepts of soil quality and other measures of sustainable practice.

On this evidence soil biology should certainly no longer/'eel the poor cousin of the soil sciences - - on the contrary. It is very particularly fitting that the work- shop should have been held in Australia whose scien- tists, many of them contributors to this book, have been at the forefront of this push forward.

That said I also have a slight sense of disappoint- ment. I was anxious to see how far we have come in explicitly connecting the chain of effects from man- agement practice to biotic population to biological process to soil fertility effect. There are abundant exam- ples of the causative links between pairs of these com- ponents but I could find no persuasive example where the full spectrum was explicitly demonstrated. In most cases it was apparently not sought. This is disappoint- ing because it not only indicates that we still lack suf- ficient predictive precision for our management

Book Review/Applied Soil Ecology 2 (1995) 137-139 139

recommendations but also suggests that there may be some important conceptual lacunae. The weakest part of the discussion, in my view, lies in addressing the first link - - between management and community. The objective stressed development of land management practices. In the majority of cases management practice is taken as a given or a context rather than as a matter for experimentation in itself. With the exception of minimum tillage the practices addressed are all rela- tively intensive.

This leads ~ my second disappointment which lies in the lack of reference to agricultural systems outside the intensive "agr ibusiness" of the industriali- sed world. Many of the cropping systems practised in tropical and sub-tropical environments (e.g. inter- crops and agroforestry systems) rely much more explicitly on biodiversity as a tool of management. This provides a fruitful area for analysing the linkage between management and biota which is the topic of this book.

My final criticism refers to the almost total omission on discussion of the economic or social implications of soil biota management. Surely the day has passed when scientists can work on the development of improved means of land management in isolation from the inter- ests of the user and of society ? The whole thrust of the sustainability paradigm is holistic. Whilst this opens opportunities for the soil biologist it also imposes the responsibility to prove the importance of our subject, not just to one another but to our clients.

In conclusion I urge anyone interested in soil biology to buy this book and, even more importantly, to per- suade your colleagues in other areas of agriculture to buy it, or at least, read it.

MIKE SWIFT Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Program

c/o UNESCO-ROSTA UN Complex, Gigiri, P.O. Box 30592

Nairohi Kenya