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When we are standing on the ground, we are really standing on roof-top of other world. Soil might look "dirt" but it is far more interesting; living in the soil or plant roots, bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, algae, lichens, protozoan, nematodes etc. These exist great diversity among various microorganisms and even with in a group of microorganisms, depending on the habitat and environmental factors.

Soils are formed from a stew of geological ingredients or parent material (rock and mineral), water and billions of organisms. The interaction between climate, parent material, organisms landscapes, and time affect all major ecosystem processes which leads to development of soil properties that are unique to the soil type and climate.

It has been proposed that a microbe should be considered as a new state symbol in the company of state animals. The state bird, state flower, state fish and insect. The state microbe will be a living symbol of an organism that reflect the culture and heritage of people and will contribute mightily to the state's economy.


The present volume is compendium of wide ranging modern topics on soil microbiology. It is an assemblage of the up-to-date information of rapid advances and developments taking place in the field of soil microbiology. The book is a unique compilation of 30 chapters which discuss exhaustive studies on algae, fungi, lichens, mycorrhizae, bacteria, virus and other microorganisms. This book will be a milestone in the field of soil microbiology, because it will open a new vista in the field of soil microbiology and its applied aspects.

The authors have done a tremendous job of synthesizing all the recent and up-to-date information. The present book aimed to emphasise on diverse aspects of soil microflora. The various information incorporated in the book by authors who are internationally acknowledged experts in the field of microbiology and are the eminent scientists of the country, they have made sincere efforts to make their papers as recent and comprehensive as possible.

The book has been framed with the intention of providing a sufficient depth of the subject to satisfy the needs at a level which will be comprehensive and interesting. The book will be useful to the students, teachers, scientists and researchers from the different branches of soil microbiology.

It is hoped that the book will fully meet the objectives of catering the needs of the students and researchers in the fields of botany, microbiology, soil science, agricultural science and forestry of all Indian universities.