Preface; Henk Kars & Lida van den EijkelSECTION I: Criminal soil forensicsSoil traces: forensic examinations and legal contextChapter 1: Forensic palynology: Checking value of pollen analysis as a tool to identify crime scene in semiarid environments; M. Munuera-Giner & J.S. CarrionChapter 2: Forensic Palynology: How pollen in dry grass can link to a crime scene; Martina Weber & Silvia UlrichChapter 3: Geological analysis of soil and anthropogenic material. Three case studies; Rosa Maria Di MaggioChapter 4: Forensic Soil Analysis: case study of looting at a Roman-Visigothic burial vault; Enrique Santillana Reyes, Jose C. Cordero & Francisco AlamillaChapter 5: Soil comparisons using small soil traces, a case report; Stefan Uitdehaag, Frederike Quaak & Irene KuiperChapter 6: Forensic comparison of soil samples; Jisook Min, Kiwook Kim, Sangcheol Heo & Yurim JangChapter 7: Reinstating soil examination as a trace evidence sub-discipline; Brenda Woods, Chris Lennard, K. Paul Kirkbride & James RobertsonChapter 8: Methodology of Forensic Soil Examination in Russia and a View on the World Standardization Process; Olga Gradusova and Ekaterina NesterinaSECTION II: Environmental soil forensicsForensic tools for spatial and chemical analysisChapter 9: Geographical Information Systems - a working example in the Brazilian Federal Police for fighting environmental crime; Daniel Araujo MirandaChapter 10: Forensic characterization of gasoline releases impacting the environment; Gil OudijkChapter 11: A general overview of pesticides in soil: Requirement of sensitive and current residue analysis methods; Sevcan Semen, Selda Mercan & Munevver AcikkolSECTION III: Searches and burial sitesA. Searches: co-operation, strategies and techniquesChapter 12: A study of pH as an influencing factor in the survival of human remains at sites investigated by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains; Niamh A. McCullaghChapter 13: Interdisciplinary approaches to the search and location of buried bodies: a United Kingdom context; Karl Harrison, Lorna Dawson & Gaille MackinnonChapter 14: Forensic Geophysics: How the GPR technique can help with forensic investigations; Pier Matteo Barone, C. Ferrara, E. Pettinelli & A. FazzariChapter 15: Filter paper adsorption and ninhydrin reagent as presumptive test for gravesoil; Martien H.F. Graumans, Tim C.W. van der Heijden, Aleksandra Kosinska, Maarten J. Blom & Ben M. de RooijB. Decomposition and degradation processesChapter 16: Changes in soil microbial activity following cadaver decomposition during spring and summer months in southern Ontario; Heloise A. Breton, Andrea E. Kirkwood, David O. Carter & Shari L. ForbesChapter 17: Soil fauna and their effects on decomposition within coniferous and deciduous tree soil samples; R.J. J. Camplin, Damian Evans & Iain D GreenChapter 18: Analysis of decomposition fluid collected from carcasses decomposing in the presence and absence of insects; Jenna L. Comstock, Helene N. LeBlanc, Shari L. ForbesChapter 19: Forensic analysis of volatile compounds from decomposed remains in a soil environment; Sonja Stadler, Jean-Francois Focant & Shari ForbesChapter 20: GCxGC-TOFMS, the Swiss knife for VOC mixtures analysis in soil forensic investigations; P-H Stefanuto & J-F FocantChapter 21: An investigation of the degradation of polymeric grave goods in soil environments; Clare Sullivan, B.H. Stuart & P.S. Thomas