This interesting volume has 17 chapters, each written by one or more acknowledged experts in their field, grouped into five sections. The introductory section is the shortest one and Jan Willem Erisman puts the book into the context of ‘The New Global Nitrogen Cycle’. Although all chapters are very well referenced, there seems to have been a long gestation period for the book as references pertaining to 2010 are notable by their absence, which is a pity. Section 2, on ‘Plant-Soil-Microbe Interactions’ is the longest one and covers much of the usual ground, but in an authoritative way. It is good to see ectomycorrhizas getting proper recognition, and the chapter on proteins in the rhizosphere is a good inclusion. The short third section covers the phylloplane (seldom covered) and endophytes of cereals and grasses (frequently covered). Section four on arthropods is very welcome as the importance of their interactions with plant nutrition is now beginning to be appreciated. The final section of three chapters is on environmental signalling in N acquisition, also a well-covered subject recently.

Overall I enjoyed this volume. It is good to have emphasis on ecology rather than agriculture. It might have been better if ‘terrestrial’ was included in the title, as aquatic and atmospheric cycles are not covered (rightly in this context). The main omission is the lack of coverage of cluster (proteoid) roots and the recent report of direct uptake of protein by plant roots (Paungfoo-Lonhienne et al., Reference Paungfoo-Lonhienne, Lonhienne, Rentsch, Robinson, Christies, Gamage, Carroll, Schenk and Schmidt2008).