Soil is a complex body that exists as many types, each with diverse properties that may vary widely across time and space as a function of many factors. This complexity makes the evaluation of soil quality much more challenging than that of water or air quality. Evaluation of soil quality now considers environmental implications as well as economic productivity, seeking to be more holistic in its approach.
Thus, soil quality research draws from a wide range of disciplines, blending the approaches of biologists, physicists, chemists, ecologists, economists and agronomists, among...

The book summarizes present scientific knowledge in plant physiology with regards to plant production. The authors, mainly professors of plant physiology at agricultural universities in Czechoslovakia, present the individual fields of plant physiology with regard to the demands of agricultural practice and education of students and doctorani at these universities.
The first chapters discuss metabolism ie. photosynthesis, respiration, mineral and heterotrophic nutrition, and water regime of plants. What follows is a discussion of the physiology of plant growth, development and movements,...