A holistic view of rhizosphere ecology

The rhizosphere: biochemistry and organic substances at the soil–plant interface Ed. by Pinton R, Varanini Z & Nannipieri P. 1st edn. 424 pages. New York, USA: Marcel Dekker, Inc, 2001. $175.00 h/b. ISBN 08247 0427 4 This is the third book that aims to present a holistic view of rhizosphere ecology. The two previous texts (Curl & Trueglove, 1986; Lynch, 1990) were good, so the question arises as to whether this book can provide a worthwhile addition to the library. The answer is a wholehearted yes. Unlike the previous volumes, this book attempts to assign a pivotal role to root exudates driving the rhizosphere. For this reason, most of the book is dedicated to understanding the ecological significance of root exudates from various perspectives. The book is an edited collection of chapters, each of which is written by an expert in its respective area. In most cases the selection of authors appears well justified and this is borne out by the quality of texts that have emerged. However, through the multiauthored nature of the book it lacks a certain degree of the coherence that is found in single-authored texts such as ‘Mineral nutrition of higher plants’ (Marschner, 1986). For example, the basic constituents of root exudates, and some of their interactions in soil, are repeated in many of the chapters. Despite this, however, most of the chapters are very well written, can be read in isolation and contain up-to-date literature. In its entirety, the book brings together more than 1200 references on rhizosphere biology and so provides a good synthesis of published material. Typically, each page contains 5–6 citations providing ample room for the authors’ views to be expressed. The literature is critically assessed, in contrast to many books where the tendency is simply to bring information together without synthesizing it. The ‘future prospects’ at the end of each chapter are also an indication of level of thought given by authors to this exercise. The book contains sufficient illustrations to highlight the key points from each chapter. With respect to readership, the book contains many chapters that will be beyond the capability of most undergraduate students as the book, quite rightly in my view, spends little time covering introductory material dealing with soil science, plant physiology, microbiology, etc. The main market for this book therefore will be researchers for whom it provides a fundamental rhizosphere text. The book is somewhat expensive, which will prevent adoption as a general undergraduate text and will also discourage purchase by most individuals. This is a particular shame, as the true value of the book will probably be lost by its absence from most researchers’ bookshelves. In conclusion, I can thoroughly recommend this book as a worthwhile purchase for any science library and for researchers with money left in the grant at the end of the financial year.