Biogeochemistry of Trace Metals is a compendium of the most recent information available on the effects of trace metals in soil quality and its potential threat on the transfer of these contaminants to consumers. Most of the chapters in the book were presented as papers during the First International Conference on the Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements (formerly Metals in Soils, Plants, Waters, and Animals) held in Orlando, Florida in May, 1990. Topics discussed include background levels of metals in soils and/or plants (covering western Europe; temperate, humid Europe; and the People’s Republic of China); metal cycling and transfer in the food chain in agroecosystems; uptake and accumulation of metals by bacteria, fungi, and invertebrates; mechanistic aspects of metals; the microbial aspects of soil selenium losses; and manganese sorption on soil constituents.