CRC TRACE ELEM SOIL PLNT PDF

Preface to the Third Edition

Eight years have passed since the second edition of Trace Elements in Soil and Plants appeared. During this period there has been a real explosion in research and public interest related to trace elements in the environment. An incredible number of publications have recently focused on the significance of chemical balance to a safe environment and human health.

I have tried to continue the goal we set for the two earlier editions of this book, which was to provide a brief but informative introduction to the biogeochemistry of trace elements in the soil–plant system. The new edition incorporates up-to-date data from about 400 recent sources and highlights the significance of anthropogenic factors in changing the trace element status in soils and plants. Some of the most destructive impacts of man are changes in the natural cycling of chemical elements, and in particular of trace elements.

New data are especially selected to present knowledge on hot topics, such as (a) assessment of natural/background content of trace elements in soil, (b) bioindication of chemical status of environmental compartments, (c) soil remediation, and (d) hyperaccumulation and hyperextraction of trace metals from soil.

Contemporary legislation related to environmental protection and public health, at national and international levels, is based on data that characterize chemical properties of environmental compartments, especially of our food chain. Thus, quality of the environment and food is now a matter of public concern, and, therefore, a system in metrology in trace analysis has recently been developed at the international level.

As stated previously, the author's intent is to provide a broad but concise background on the subject, and to accomplish this, selectivity of data is necessary. This inevitably leaves the work of many investigators uncited. I regret the many omissions that such an approach has necessitated.

This volume offers a current review of recent soil–plant chain findings and is an excellent text that should be a requirement for all students entering environmental and agricultural professions. The information on the health-related significance of trace elements in foods makes this edition valuable for other readers as well.

The third edition of this book has been written without the second author, my late husband Henryk. The lack of his assistance was a real burden.