Faculty Publications

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Scholarly Publications by Integral Academia

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    Soil Organic Matter and Humus Formation
    (The Pustakalaya, Lucknow, India, 2026) Anuj Kumar Singh, Khalid Habib
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    Nanotechnology Advances in Composting
    (Springer, Cham, 2026) Faria Fatima, Deepti Srivastava, Abdul Mazeed, P. Smriti Rao
    Nanotechnology is now developing and growing more quickly across a variety of industries. Nanoparticles (NPs) enter the composts in various ways as a result of this development. First, NPs may inadvertently enter composts through surface runoff, buried solid waste, waste discharge, or direct dumping into waste (food, medicine, consumer goods, and personal care items). Second, a novel strategy created to speed up waste breakdown and act as a nutrient for plants is the deliberate mediation of NPs in the composting process. Nanotoxicity may result from the presence of NPs in the composts. On the other hand, their existence may also be advantageous in situations like soil reclamation, degradation, etc. On the other hand, all living things, including microbes, benefit from metal nanoparticles (NPs) in a number of biological activities, including transcription, oxidative stress responses, respiration, precursor biosynthesis, and DNA replication. NPs perform admirably in a variety of domains, and it is worthwhile to investigate their function in the composting process. As a result, this chapter contributes to the comprehension of NPs’ function in the composting process and the extent to which their presence can be advantageous. The importance of NPs in the composting process, the performance of microbial bioprocesses during nanocomposting, the fundamental life cycle assessment (LCA) of NP-mediated composting, and the mechanism of action of NPs in the soil matrix are all reviewed in this chapter. Additionally, this chapter clarifies the concept of nanozymes and emphasizes their biocatalytic characteristics, which will be useful for researching composting in the future.
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    Organic Matter Dynamics in Soil
    (RL International Publication, 2025) Anuj Kumar Singh, Khalid Habib
    Soil Organic Matter (SOM) is a viscoelastic, multi-phase substance found in soils. It is heterogeneous in structure and biochemical composition and influences nearly all soil processes such as soil aggregation, water infiltration, soil reaction (pH), ion-exchange reactions, microbiological properties, nutrient cycling, and pollutant behavior. SOM is thus a key determinant of soil health and quality. Increased SOM levels enhance plant productivity and soil health, whereas its depletion leads to soil degradation and can eventually result in desertification. The decline of SOM is largely driven by agricultural management practices that accelerate the decomposition of stable SOM pools. Sustainable management practices can help maintain or increase SOM, though changes occur gradually over years to decades, depending on soil properties, climate, and crop residue management. Assessing SOM dynamics at larger spatial scales often relies on measuring Total Organic Carbon (TOC) pools over time, but this approach has limitations, as it does not fully capture decomposition pathways, protection mechanisms, or turnover rates.