Written by leading experts in the field, this comprehensive, balanced introduction to soil microbiology captures the rapid advances in both the fundamental knowledge and potential applications of soil microbiology. The book includes coverage of habitats and organisms, microbiology-mediated transformation, and applied environmental topics. Carefully edited to ensure a uniform style and consistent usage of terminology, it helps readers make the transition from traditional introductory, single-authored books to typical multi-authored scientific treatises. To keep current, they will consult these treatises. For anyone interested in environmental biology.