1. Advances in understanding the processes and cycling of nanoparticles in the terrestrial environment Bo Pan, Shunling Li, Hongbo Peng, Chenghong Ao, Zhuo Wei, and Baoshan Xing 2. Distribution, characteristics and management of calcareous soils Nanthi Bolan, Prashant Srivastava, Cherukumalli Srinivasa Rao, P.V. Satyanaraya, Geoffrey C. Anderson, Shiv Bolan, Gerhardus P. Nortje, Raelin Kronenberg, Sougata Bardhan, Lynette K. Abbott, Haochen Zhao, Promil Mehra, S.V. Satyanarayana, Naser Khan, Hailong Wang, Jorg Rinklebe, Kadambot H.M. Siddique, and M.B. Kirkham 3. An integrated approach to assessing soil biological health Christine D. Sprunger and Tvisha K. Martin 4. Critical review of the models used to determine soil water content using TDR-measured apparent permittivity Hailong He, Wenxiu Zou, Scott B. Jones, David A. Robinson, Robert Horton, Miles Dyck, Vilim Filipovic, Kosuke Noborio, Keith Bristow, Yuan Gong, Wenyi Sheng, Qingbai Wu, Hao Feng, and Yang Liu 5. Drought and salinity stress in medicinal and aromatic plants: Physiological response, adaptive mechanism, management/ amelioration strategies, and an opportunity for production of bioactive compounds Mitali Mahajan and Probir Kumar Pal