Based on the work of the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility (TSBF) Programme, this handbook provides recommended and validated methods for the characterization and analysis of soils, with emphasis on the tropics, with the aim of achieving sustainable use of soil resources. Many of the methods described are also applicable to temperate soils. Since publication of the first edition in 1989, the methods have been tested in a wide variety of field and laboratory environments, leading to their further development and refinement. The text has been substantially revised and expanded for the second edition, with an additional chapter on laboratory practice and quality control and new appendices on mycorrhizas, roots, most probably number analysis for rhizobia, isotope studies and a description, field procedures, sampling, laboratory practice, chemical analysis and soil physical analysis. The second half of the book then includes 15 appendices which comprise state-of-the-art methodological reviews. The methods given are endorsed by the International Society of Soil Science and are part of the International Union of Biological Sciences/UNESCO 'Man and the Biosphere' Programme. The book is an indispensable handbook for students and professional soil scientists, as well as ecologists, agronomists and foresters concerned with tropical systems.