Soil Ecology in Northern Forests: A Belowground View of a Changing World

by Martin Lukac , Douglas L. Godbold

• ISBN13: 9780521714211
• ISBN10: 0521714214
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-05-16
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Forest soils form the foundation that underpins the existence of all forests. This book encapsulates soil ecology and functioning in northern forests, focusing on the effects of human activity and climate change. The authors introduce the fundamental principles necessary for studying forest soils, and explain the functioning and mutual influence of all parts of a forest soil ecosystem. A chapter is dedicated to each of soil acidity and heavy metal pollution, elevated carbon dioxide, nitrogen deposition and climate change, highlighting the most important anthropogenic factors influencing forest soil functioning and how these soils are likely to respond to environmental change. With its unique view of the functioning of the soils found under temperate and boreal forests in today's rapidly changing world, this book is of interest to anyone studying forestry and forest ecology in European, North American and North Asian contexts.

Author Biography

Martin Lukac is a Research Fellow at the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, UK. His main areas of interest are carbon cycling, forest ecology and climate change impacts on ecosystems. He is involved in teaching and research in the area of climate change, focusing on its effects on ecosystem functioning and stability. Douglas L. Godbold is Professor of Forest Sciences at the School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, UK. His research interests include tree roots and rhizosphere biology, particularly in the context of environmental change. He teaches in the areas of plant-soil interactions and forest ecosystems.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
History of forest soil studies	p. 1
Soil formation	p. 3
Trees and soil environment	p. 8
Soil properties	p. 10
Physical properties	p. 10
Texture	p. 10
Soil structure	p. 13
Water	p. 17
Chemical properties	p. 20
Acidity and alkalinity	p. 20
Cation exchange capacity and nutrient availability	p. 22
Salinity	p. 24
Soil organic matter	p. 25
Litter	p. 25
Humus: inherited and humified organic substances	p. 27
Organo-mineral complexes	p. 28
Soil fertility	p. 30
Forest soil development and classification	p. 32
Soil development	p. 33
Soil formation processes	p. 33
Soil profile	p. 37
Soil horizons	p. 38
Soil depth	p. 40
Time	p. 41
Soil classification	p. 42
History and principles of soil classification	p. 42
USDA classification	p. 43
FAO classification	p. 47
Examples of typical temperate and boreal forest soils	p. 50
Leptosols	p. 52
Luvisols	p. 53
Cambisols	p. 53
Podzols	p. 54
Gleysols	p. 55
Histosols	p. 56
Soil fungi	p. 57
Mycorrhizas	p. 57
Emanating hyphae and rhizomorphs	p. 60
Identification of mycorrhizas	p. 62
Determination of the extraradical and extramatrical mycelium	p. 64
Community structure	p. 66
Common mycelial networks	p. 76
Relating ectomycorrhizal community structure to ecosystem function	p. 76
Soil water	p. 78
Introduction and background	p. 78
Water-binding forces in soils	p. 78
Water potential	p. 79
Soil moisture heterogeneity	p. 80
Water acquisition by roots and mycorrhizas	p. 82
Hydraulic redistribution	p. 86
Waterlogging	p. 90
Drought	p. 93
Forest carbon cycle	p. 94
The global carbon cycle	p. 95
Formation of organic matter	p. 96
Belowground carbon cycles	p. 98
Belowground biomass pool and fluxes	p. 99
Consumption: soil fauna	p. 108
Final stages of organic matter breakdown	p. 109
Soil humus	p. 112
Mor and mull humus	p. 113
Chemical composition of humus	p. 115
Peat formation	p. 116
Nutrient cycling	p. 118
Nutrient supply and uptake	p. 119
Nitrogen	p. 124
N cycling	p. 124
Importance of C: N ratios	p. 128
Climate change and the N cycle	p. 130
Phosphorus	p. 133
Potassium, calcium and magnesium	p. 137
Forest nutrient cycle and climate change	p. 138
Northern forests in a high-C02 world	p. 143
Atmospheric C02 enrichment technology	p. 143
Increased forest production	p. 146
Soil C dynamics	p. 148
Soil C02 efflux	p. 155
High C02 and soil N cycle	p. 156
Diversity of soil biota	p. 158
Soil acidity and heavy metal pollution	p. 161
Emission, transport and deposition of pollutants	p. 161
Inputs of acidity	p. 164
Soil acidification: nutrient loss, Al release, Al in soil solutions	p. 165
Soil solution speciation of Al	p. 170
Heavy metals in forest soils	p. 171
Soil solution speciation of heavy metals	p. 174
Loss of base cations	p. 174
Aluminium accumulation and toxicity	p. 179
Aluminium activity and speciation	p. 182
Base cations	p. 182
Heavy metal effects on trees	p. 183
Soil acidity effects on forest ecosystems	p. 184
Effects of soil acidity on roots, rooting depth and root growth	p. 184
Chronology of soil acidification	p. 189
Soil acidity and mycorrhizas	p. 191
Recovery from acidification	p. 194
Nitrogen	p. 195
Nitrogen cycle	p. 195
Tree growth and biomass allocation	p. 199
Changes in ground vegetation	p. 205
Changes in ectomycorrhizal community structure and function	p. 207
Increased susceptibility to pathogens and insects	p. 209
Export of N03 with seepage water	p. 210
Soil functioning and climate change	p. 213
Effects of climate change	p. 214
Increasing temperature	p. 216
Changing rainfall	p. 220
Nitrogen deposition	p. 223
Feedback effects of forests	p. 226
Contribution of northern forests to the global C cycle	p. 227
Forest expansion and the water cycle	p. 229
Environmental benefits and ecosystem services of forest soils	p. 232
Carbon sequestration	p. 233
Water cycle	p. 235
Biodiversity	p. 236
References	p. 238
Index	p. 253
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