Biological Nitrogen Fixation and Plant-Associated Microorganisms

Abstract

This book contains the contributions presented at the XIII National Meeting of the Spanish Society of Nitrogen Fixation (SEFIN) and II Portuguese-Spanish Congress on Nitrogen Fixation, held in Zaragoza (Spain) from June 15-18, 2010. Contributions include 2 keynote lectures, 11 session conferences, 17 oral communications, and 82 posters. All the authors work in the field of biological nitrogen fixation and/or with plant-associated microorganisms (hence the title of the book), and their areas of expertise include ecology, plant physiology, agronomy, soil biology, microbiology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular and cell biology. The contributors came mostly from Spain (89) but there were also participants from Portugal and other European countries (10), as well as from Mexico and South America (10) and from Japan and the USA (3). The organizers and the SEFIN have encouraged the participation of predoctoral fellows (27%), in addition to staff and postdoctoral scientists (73%), and we can testify to the success of this initiative. According to the instructions provided to the authors, all contributions have a title and short summary in English, whereas the rest of the text has been written optionally in English or Spanish. On behalf of the congress organizers, I would like to thank all the participants and members of the advisory and scientific committees for their invaluable help. We also hope you will find the information included in the book useful for future work, and trust that the book will provide you with a perspective of the highly varied, and yet complementary, aspects within the field of biological nitrogen fixation and other related beneficial processes for agriculture and the environment, such as the association of plants with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi or with plant growth promoting rhizobacteria.