Advances in Tropical Soil Science (ATSS) Volume 8

Soil is a very important resource required for the prosperity and survival of mankind as well as for the maintenance of terrestrial ecosystems. Soil is the basis of the food system. It supplies essential nutrients, water, root support, and oxygen that plants require to grow and produce the required yield. Soil acts as a medium for the expansion of all plants. It modies the atmosphere favourable to plants by emitting and absorbing gases and mud, provides a habitat for organisms, it holds puries, alters, releases water and processes nutrients, for organisms to use it again and again. Soils are habitats for benecial soil microbes; these organisms are nature’s hidden helpers. They form synergistic relationships with plants to guard them from stress and supply them with nutrients, among other tasks. Thus, it is important for us to understand the wide range of soil such as soil physics, soil chemistry, soil microbiology, and soil fertility and management in the tropics, particularly in Malaysia.