Volume 72 contains four outstanding reviews detailing advances in the plant and environmental soil sciences. Chapter 1 deals with a timely and significant topic in North America and indeed in the world. This review provides background information, data sources and analyses, and implications for research and policy. Chapter 2 is a treatise on cutting-edge developments in bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated soils. Chapter 3 deals with the genetics of flowering time in the chickpea and its effect on productivity in semi-arid environments. Chapter 4 covers environment-sensitive genetic male sterility (EGMS) in crops.