Emphasizing the philosophy of uncertainty and the frailties of human psychology when people are confronted with risky situations, this book describes how to conduct a thorough environmental risk assessment. Technical methods are provided to help make assessments more objective and less prone to the biases of those involved in the assessment. Consideration is given to the way in which both subjective beliefs and technical analysis may be used to make better informed decisions.

Although soil provides physical support for plants and contributes to a variety of important environmental functions, many questions about the ecological significance of its biological diversity, and how ecosystem function is affected, have never been asked. Recent technical developments, as well as new experimental and modelling approaches, have led to a renaissance in soil biodiversity research. The key areas are reflected in this new volume, which brings together many leading contributions on the role and importance of soil biota.

In the mid 1970s two events led me to get to know the Yorkshire Dales better than I had previously. Since 1964 I had been to the Malham Tarn Field Centre with groups of students, first from the University of Edinburgh and then from the University of York, and my family very much enjoyed the summer days we spent amid this magnificent hill scenery. In 1976, the British Ecological Society and the National Trust jointly worked on a survey of the biological interest of the National Trust properties of the Kent, East Anglian and Yorkshire Regions. Malham Tarn itself, and the surrounding farms,...