Books in the Microorganisms for Sustainability series

This book provides a much-needed, comprehensive overview of the various types of contaminants, their toxicological effects on the environment, humans, animals and plants as well as various eco-friendly approaches for their management (degradation/detoxification).

Increasing agro productivity to feed a growing global population under the present climate scenario requires optimizing the use of resources and adopting sustainable agricultural production. This can be achieved by using plant beneficial bacteria, i.e., those bacteria that enhance plant growth under abiotic stress conditions, and more specifically, microorganisms such as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), which are the most promising candidates in this regard. Attaining sustainable agricultural production while preserving environmental quality, agro-ecosystem functions and biodiversity represents a major challenge for current agricultural practices; further, the traditional use of chemical inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, nutrients etc.) poses serious threats to crop productivity, soil fertility and the nutritional value of farm produce. Given these risks, managing pests and diseases, maintaining agro-ecosystem health, and avoiding health issues for humans and animals have now become key priorities. The use of PGPR as biofertilizers, plant growth promoters, biopesticides, and soil and plant health managers has attracted considerable attention among researchers, agriculturists, farmers, policymakers and consumers alike. Using PGPR can help meet the expected demand for global agricultural productivity to feed the world's booming population, which is predicted to reach roughly 9 billion by 2050. However, to do so, PGPR strains must be safe for the environment, offer considerable plant growth promotion and biocontrol potential, be compatible with useful soil rhizobacteria, and be able to withstand various biotic and abiotic stresses. Accordingly, the book also highlights the need for better strains of PGPR to complement increasing agro-productivity.

Xenobiotic compounds including pesticides, nitrophenols, pyridine, polycyclic aromatic compounds and polychlorinated biphenyls are widely spread in environment due to anthropogenic activities.

Attaining sustainable agricultural production while preserving environmental quality, agro-ecosystem functions and biodiversity represents a major challenge for current agricultural practices; further, the traditional use of chemical inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, nutrients etc.) poses serious threats to crop productivity, soil fertility and the nutritional value of farm produce. Given these risks, managing pests and diseases, maintaining agro-ecosystem health, and avoiding health issues for humans and animals have now become key priorities. The use of PGPR as biofertilizers, plant growth promoters, biopesticides, and soil and plant health managers has attracted considerable attention among researchers, agriculturists, farmers, policymakers and consumers alike.Using PGPR as bioinoculants can help meet the expected demand for global agricultural productivity to feed the world's booming population, which is predicted to reach roughly 9 billion by 2050. However, to provide effective bioinoculants, PGPR strains must be safe for the environment, offer considerable plant growth promotion and biocontrol potential, be compatible with useful soil rhizobacteria, and be able to withstand various biotic and abiotic stresses. Accordingly, the book also highlights the need for better strains of PGPR to complement increasing agro-productivity.

Chapter 1. Green technologies for the treatment of pharmaceutical contaminants in wastewaters.- Chapter 2. Constructed Wetlands: an emerging green technology for treatment of industrial wastewaters.- Chapter 3. Application of nanoparticles in environmental cleanup: production, potential risks and solutions.- Chapter 4. Efficiency of algae for heavy metal removal, bioenergy production and carbon sequestration.- Chapter 5. Advances in plant-microbe based remediation approaches for environmental cleanup.- Chapter 6. Bioprocessing of cane molasses to produce ethanol and its derived products from South Indian Distillery.- Chapter 7. Biological and non-biological approaches for treatment of Cr(VI) in tannery effluent.- Chapter 8. Photocatalysis as a clean technology for the degradation of petrochemical pollutants.- Chapter 9. Sustainable management of toxic industrial effluent of coal based power plants.- Chapter 10. Removal of organic pollutants from contaminated water bodies by using aquatic macrophytes coupling with bioenergy production and carbon sequestration.- Chapter 11. Biopolymers and their application in wastewater treatment.- Chapter 12. Recovery of rare earths, precious metals and bioreduction of toxic metals from wastewater using algae.- Chapter 13. Green synthesized nanoparticle mediated wastewater treatment.- Chapter 14. Microbial communities in a constructed wetland microcosms and their role in treatment of domestic wastewater.- Chapter 15. Agricultural Waste: It''s Impact on Environment and Management Approaches.-

Increasing agro productivity to feed a growing global population under the present climate scenario requires optimizing the use of resources and adopting sustainable agricultural production. This can be achieved by using plant beneficial bacteria, i.e., those bacteria that enhance plant growth under abiotic stress conditions, and more specifically, microorganisms such as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), which are the most promising candidates in this regard. Attaining sustainable agricultural production while preserving environmental quality, agro-ecosystem functions and biodiversity represents a major challenge for current agricultural practices; further, the traditional use of chemical inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, nutrients etc.) poses serious threats to crop productivity, soil fertility and the nutritional value of farm produce. Given these risks, managing pests and diseases, maintaining agro-ecosystem health, and avoiding healthissues for humans and animals have now become key priorities. The use of PGPR as biofertilizers, plant growth promoters, biopesticides, and soil and plant health managers has attracted considerable attention among researchers, agriculturists, farmers, policymakers and consumers alike. Using PGPR can help meet the expected demand for global agricultural productivity to feed the world¿s booming population, which is predicted to reach roughly 9 billion by 2050. However, to do so, PGPR strains must be safe for the environment, offer considerable plant growth promotion and biocontrol potential, be compatible with useful soil rhizobacteria, and be able to withstand various biotic and abiotic stresses. Accordingly, the book also highlights the need for better strains of PGPR to complement increasing agro-productivity.

This book provides a much-needed, comprehensive overview of the various types of contaminants, their toxicological effects on the environment, humans, animals and plants as well as various eco-friendly approaches for their management (degradation/detoxification).

This book provides insights into various aspects of medicinal plant-associated microbes, known to be a unique source of biological active compounds, including their biotechnological uses and their potential in pharmaceutical, agricultural and industrial applications.

This book is about the role played by microbes in their community mode in sustaining ecosystems. The descriptions given in its chapters indicate clearly that microbial communities are more effective in delivering multifaceted benefits to the soil-plant system than those offered by microbial monocultures in planktonic modes.

This volume explains the recent findings on the mutualistic plant-microbe interactions and how they can be utilized for sustainable agriculture practices including land reclamation. The book covers mainly plant growth promoting microorganisms (PGPMs) including both the symbiotic bacteria and fungi and their role in mobilization of nutrients, providing protection to the crops from phytopathogens and abiotic stresses. PGPMs play important roles in survival and health of the plant. These useful microorganisms provide plants with nutrients, protect them from pathogens and help them combat abiotic stresses. It is important that these mutualistic interactions between plant and soil microbes are well understood so as to develop reliable products in the form of biostimulants and biopesticides, as well as managing biotic and abiotic stresses in crops. Apart from enhancing crop productivity plant-microbe interactions can also perform activities such as reclamation of degraded lands, degradation of pollutants and remediation of saline or marginal lands.This book is of interest to teachers, researchers, plant scientists and microbiologists. Also, the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, microbiology, biotechnology, ecology, soil science and environmental sciences.