Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. General Introduction / Gero Benckiser -- 2. Organic Inputs and Soil Metabolism / Gero Benckiser -- 3. Protozoa: Recyclers and Indicators of Agroecosystem Quality / Stuart S. Bamforth -- 4. Nematodes: Harmful and Beneficial Organisms / Ulrich Zunke and Roland N. Perry -- 5. Enchytraeids / W.A.M. Didden, Heinz-Christian Frund and Ulfert Graefe -- 6. Earthworms (Lumbricidae: Oligochaeta): Important Promoters of Soil Development and Soil Fertility / Franz Makeschin -- 7. Springtails and Mites: Important Knots in the Food Web of Soils / Otto Larink -- 8. Gastropods, Isopods, Diplopods, and Chilopods: Neglected Groups of the Decomposer Food Web / Volkmar Wolters and Klemens Ekschmitt -- 9. Spiders, Carabids, and Staphylinids: The Ecological Potential of Predatory Macroarthropods / Klemens Ekschmitt, Michael Weber and Volkmar Wolters -- 10. Soil Food Web Interactions and Modeling / Peter C. de Ruiter, Anje-Margriet Neutel and John C. Moore. Structured according to soil animal size, Fauna in Soil Ecosystems examines the role of soil fauna in mineralization of photoassimilates and organic wastes ... mediating nutrients from soil minerals and microbial biomass to plants ... disseminating and controlling soil microflora ... accumulating or dispersing hazardous components and pathogens ... accelerating genetic exchanges as soil microbial incubators ... and more. Lucidly illustrated and containing over 1400 bibliographic citations, Fauna in Soil Ecosystems is an incomparable reference for soil and environmental biologists and microbiologists, agronomists, horticulturists, ecologists, biotechnologists, botanists, plant nutritionists, virologists, mycologists, zoologists, and upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in these disciplines.