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Trace and Ultratrace Elements in Plants and Soil edited by I. Shtangeeva. WIT Press, Southampton, UK (www. witpress.com). £136.00.

Sidney, BC, Canada

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

On hearing of this new book, I was intrigued to see what the approach would be in comparison to the classic compendium with the similar title Trace Elements in Soils and Plants (Kabata-Pendias & Pendias 19XX). The approach in this new book is, indeed, very different and considerably more restricted in scope, covering only a few elements. Irina Shtangeeva has assembled a miscellany of articles written by 17 professionals from ten countries, but the only seven elements that are discussed in any detail are As, Au, Cd, Cu, Pb, Sc and Th, plus a chapter on rare earth elements (REE). The prospective purchaser should be aware, therefore, that the intention of this book is not to provide a comprehensive overview of a wide range of elements, but to focus on specific topics using these few elements as examples. Furthermore, there is a strong focus in most chapters on procedures relevant to the environmental sciences rather than exploration geochemistry.

The topic of the first chapter, ‘Multi-element analysis of plant and soil samples’ by S. Ayrault, is large in scope and therefore challenging to summarize in just a paragraph. The author very briefly outlines procedures involved in sampling, sample preparation, analysis by non-destructive techniques (INAA, Synchrotron XRF, and proton-induced X-ray emission [PIXE]) and by destructive methods (AAS, ICP-AES and ICP-MS). As the writer declares ‘the aim [is] to give a clear idea of their potential use in environmental studies’. There are lists of some common reference materials (SRMs) and some brief comments on quality control. Useful tables are provided that compare the pros and cons of ICP-MS and INAA, and a summary is given on the recommended analytical method for selected elements. However, only 48 elements are listed, . . . [Full Text of this Article]