Bhoopander Giri - Structure and Functions of Pedosphere

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The term Pedosphere, derived from the Greek words pedonsoil and sphairasphere, was introduced in the monograph Pedology as independent natural-scientific discipline about the Earth. Pedosphere is the cover of the Earth where soil diversity occurs. In this sphere, the processes of soil formation remain active. Pedosphere exists at the interface of lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. It develops as a result of dynamic interactions between living organisms, unconsolidated regolith and consolidated bedrock, water present in the soil, on the soil and below the soil, and the air available inside the soil and above the soil. Pedosphere prevails below the vegetative cover of the biosphere and above the hydrosphere and lithosphere. It covers an insignificant thickness (in depth only one to two meters), however, enveloping the greatest density and diversity of the Life on the Earth. Indeed, pedosphere plays a fundamental role in the stable functioning of the biosphere, supporting life on the Earth and fostering favorable conditions for plants, animals, and humans as well.

Pedosphere is predicted to be a result of prolonged effects of solar radiation, atmospheric moisture, flora and fauna that prevail on the land surface, interaction of local climate, composition and structure of parent rocks, and the breakdown of minerals that ultimately leads to the formation of soil. In the pedosphere, all forms of soils possess a special type of structure and different organic and mineral components; thus, pedosphere as a whole plays very important roles in providing unique habitats for a huge diversity of life forms, developing a link between geological and biological substances circulation in the terrestrial ecosystems, making available vital mineral elements to plants and supporting human health as a lot of trace elements in the lithosphere are accessed by people through the formation of soils and utilizing such soils for food production.

Soils cover much of the Earths land surface and support the floral and faunal species of the Earth. Soil is a multi-phase system and, therefore, functions as a medium for plant growth, storage, supply, and purification of water, and an excellent habitat for various life forms. All these functions, in turn, transform soil properties. The current state of soil properties and functions is receiving more attention as the increasing anthropogenic activities (urbanization, industrialization, intensive use of chemicals in the agricultural fields, etc.) have become major sources of soil degradation and deterioration, which indeed accelerate loss of soil fertility and productivity. Therefore, to reduce the deterioration of the soil and to control the loss of soil biological productivity and biodiversity, it is important to promote the justified and judicious use of the soil resources.

The present volume Structure and Functions of Pedosphere written by the experts of this field comprises 17 chapters and covers latest research in the field of the pedogenesis/soil-forming processes, diversity of soils, soil functions, soil proteomics, impact of anthropogenic activities on the pedosphere, plant-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions in the pedosphere, life in the pedosphere, and factors influencing the formation and functioning of soil. We believe that with the opulence of information on different aspects of soil and its sustainability, this extensive volume is a valuable resource for researchers in the area of soil science, agronomy, and agriculture, as well as academicians and students in the broad field of botany, ecology, and microbiology.

We are very much delighted and thankful to all our contributing authors for their endless support and outstanding cooperation to write altruistically these authoritative and valuable chapters. We extend our sincere thanks to all our colleagues who helped us in the preparation and compilation of this generous volume. We also thank Springer officials specially Aakanksha Tyagi, Naren Aggarwal, William Achauer, Anil Chandy, and Jayesh Kalleri for their generous support and efforts to accomplishing this wide volume. We specially thank our families for consistent support and encouragement.