African Journal of Range & Forage Science is co-published by NISC (Pty) Ltd and Informa UK Limited (trading as Taylor & Francis Group) Interactions between aboveand belowground biota, often mediated by plants, are now recognised as being fundamental to functioning in terrestrial ecosystems, but this is a relatively new insight. the interactions of soil biota, from microbiota (bacteria, fungi and protozoa) to mesofauna (springtails and mites) and macrofauna (e.g. earthworms, insect larvae, Coleoptera) remain cryptic, compared with those aboveground. although we may not understand all the mechanisms, it is emerging that a familiarity with interactions in both aboveand belowground compartments is critical for sustainable land management, conservation and restoration. this book is the first multi-authored, edited volume providing insights into evolutionary, community and ecosystem consequences of aboveground-belowground (ag-Bg) interactions. this against a background of global efforts to understand all dimensions of diversity (genetic, phylogenetic and functional; e.g. Peay et al. 2016), as well as develop the tools to do so, such as advances in high-throughput sequencing for meta-barcoding and metagenomics. as noted in Chapter 2, this may eventually bypass the necessity for culturing organisms and allow us to identify soil microbes and fauna from a single soil sample. the book appears to anticipate these efforts by placing complex details into mechanistic frameworks and the context of general evolutionary and ecological theory. the text summarises current research, methodology, and prospective research in this rapidly expanding field and accordingly is indeed ‘timely’, as claimed by the publishers. a previous review (Frew 2019) recommends this cross-disciplinary book, because it challenges the reader to take new approaches to understanding ag-Bg community ecology and sees it as being relevant across a wide range of fields, including ecology, evolution, biodiversity, agronomy, soil science, entomology and microbial ecology, for the undergraduate and advanced researcher alike. Overall, the book provides an exciting platform from which to explore a relatively new discipline, one that is likely vital to understanding global environmental change, including on rangelands.

中文翻译：

---

地上-地下社区生态

非洲牧场与饲料科学杂志由 NISC (Pty) Ltd 和 Informa UK Limited（以 Taylor & Francis Group 的名义交易）共同出版生态系统，但这是一个相对较新的见解。与地上的生物群相比，土壤生物群的相互作用，从微生物群（细菌、真菌和原生动物）到中型动物群（跳虫和螨虫）和大型动物群（例如蚯蚓、昆虫幼虫、鞘翅目）仍然是神秘的。尽管我们可能不了解所有机制，但熟悉地上和地下隔间的相互作用对于可持续的土地管理、保护和恢复至关重要。这本书是第一本多人合着的，编辑的卷提供了对地上-地下 (ag-Bg) 相互作用的进化、社区和生态系统后果的见解。这是在全球努力了解多样性的所有维度（遗传、系统发育和功能；例如 Peay 等人，2016 年）的背景下，以及开发工具，例如元条形码高通量测序的进展和宏基因组学。如第 2 章所述，这最终可能会绕过培养生物的必要性，让我们能够从单个土壤样本中识别土壤微生物和动物群。这本书似乎通过将复杂的细节放入机械框架以及一般进化和生态理论的背景中来预测这些努力。文本总结了当前的研究、方法、正如出版商所声称的那样，在这个迅速发展的领域进行前瞻性研究，因此确实是“及时的”。之前的评论（Frew 2019）推荐了这本跨学科的书，因为它挑战读者采取新的方法来理解 ag-Bg 社区生态学，并认为它与广泛的领域相关，包括生态学、进化、生物多样性、农学、土壤科学、昆虫学和微生物生态学，适合本科生和高级研究员。总体而言，这本书提供了一个令人兴奋的平台，可以从中探索一门相对较新的学科，该学科可能对理解全球环境变化（包括牧场）至关重要。因为它挑战读者采取新的方法来理解 ag-Bg 社区生态学，并认为它与广泛的领域相关，包括生态学、进化、生物多样性、农学、土壤科学、昆虫学和微生物生态学，对于本科生和高级研究员。总体而言，这本书提供了一个令人兴奋的平台，可以从中探索一门相对较新的学科，该学科可能对理解全球环境变化（包括牧场）至关重要。因为它挑战读者采取新的方法来理解 ag-Bg 社区生态学，并认为它与广泛的领域相关，包括生态学、进化、生物多样性、农学、土壤科学、昆虫学和微生物生态学，对于本科生和高级研究员。总体而言，这本书提供了一个令人兴奋的平台，可以从中探索一门相对较新的学科，该学科可能对理解全球环境变化（包括牧场）至关重要。