Carbon And Nitrogen In Forest Ecosystems Series I

Understanding the differences in carbon and nitrogen distribution and cycling both spatially and temporally using various approaches is essential in forest ecosystems. In addition, the influence of biotic and abiotic factors as well as natural and artificial disturbances on carbon and nitrogen cycling need to first be understood before drawing their implications to forest management practices. This Special Issue aims to understand carbon and nitrogen distribution and cycling in forest ecosystems for ecosystem-based forest management under different natural and artificial disturbances.

Understanding the differences in carbon and nitrogen distribution and cycling both spatially and temporally using various approaches is essential in forest ecosystems. In addition, the influence of biotic and abiotic factors as well as natural and artificial disturbances on carbon and nitrogen cycling need to first be understood before drawing their implications to forest management practices. This Special Issue aims to understand carbon and nitrogen distribution and cycling in forest ecosystems for ecosystem-based forest management under different natural and artificial disturbances.

This volume quantifies carbon storage in managed forest ecosystems not only in biomass, but also in all soil compartments. It investigates the interaction between the carbon and nitrogen cycles by working along a north-south transect through Europe that starts in northern Sweden, passes through a N-deposition maximum in central Europe and ends in Italy. For the first time biogeochemical processes are linked to biodiversity on a large geographic scale and with special focus on soil organisms. The accompanying CD-ROM provides a complete database of all flux, storage and species observations for modellers.

The long-term productivity of forest ecosystems depends on the cycling of nutrients. The effect of carbon dioxide fertilization on forest productivity may ultimately be limited by the rate of nutrient cycling. Contemporary and future disturbances such as climatic warming, N-deposition, deforestation, short rotation sylviculture, fire (both wild and controlled), and the invasion of exotic species all place strains on the integrity of ecosystem nutrient cycling. Global differences in climate, soils, and species make it difficult to extrapolate even a single important study worldwide. Despite advances in the understanding of nutrient cycling and carbon production in forests, many questions remain. The chapters in this volume reflect many contemporary research priorities. The thirteen studies in this volume are arranged in the following subject groups: • N and P resorption from foliage worldwide, along chronosequences and along elevation gradients; • Litter production and decomposition; • N and P stoichiometry as affected by N deposition, geographic gradients, species changes, and ecosystem restoration; • Effects of N and P addition on understory biomass, litter, and soil; • Effects of burning on soil nutrients; • Effects of N addition on soil fauna.

2009 Outstanding Academic Title, Choice This acclaimed textbook is the most comprehensive available in the field of forest ecology. Designed for advanced students of forest science, ecology, and environmental studies, it is also an essential reference for forest ecologists, foresters, and land managers. The authors provide an inclusive survey of boreal, temperate, and tropical forests with an emphasis on ecological concepts across scales that range from global to landscape to microscopic. Situating forests in the context of larger landscapes, they reveal the complex patterns and processes observed in tree-dominated habitats. The updated and expanded second edition covers • Conservation • Ecosystem services • Climate change • Vegetation classification • Disturbance • Species interactions • Self-thinning • Genetics • Soil influences • Productivity • Biogeochemical cycling • Mineralization • Effects of herbivory • Ecosystem stability

This volume summarizes the current knowledge on the exchange of trace gases between forests and the atmosphere with the restriction that exclusively carbon and nitrogen compounds are included. For this purpose the volume brings together and interconnects knowledge from different disciplines of biological and atmospheric sciences. It covers microbial and plant processes involved in the production and consumption of these trace gases; the exchange processes between forest soils and vegetation on the one hand, and the atmosphere on the other hand; the fate of the trace gases exchanged inside the atmosphere as well as environmental influences on the exchange of trace gases between forest ecosystems and the atmosphere. With this interdisciplinary approach the volume provides the background for an evaluation of the exchange of trace gases between forest ecosystems and the atmosphere and man-made disturbances of this exchange.

Carbon Sequestration in Forest Ecosystems is a comprehensive book describing the basic processes of carbon dynamics in forest ecosystems, their contribution to carbon sequestration and implications for mitigating abrupt climate change. This book provides the information on processes, factors and causes influencing carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems. Drawing upon most up-to-date references, this book summarizes the current understanding of carbon sequestration processes in forest ecosystems while identifying knowledge gaps for future research, Thus, this book is a valuable knowledge source for students, scientists, forest managers and policy makers.

The majority of carbon stored in the soils of the world is stored in forests. The refractory nature of some portions of forest soil organic matter also provides the slow, gradual release of organic nitrogen and phosphorus to sustain long term forest productivity. Contemporary and future disturbances, such as climatic warming, deforestation, short rotation sylviculture, the invasion of exotic species, and fire, all place strains on the integrity of this homeostatic system of C, N, and P cycling. On the other hand, the CO2 fertilization effect may partially offset losses of soil organic matter, but many have questioned the ability of N and P stocks to sustain the CO2 fertilization effect. Despite many advances in the understanding of C, N, and P cycling in forest soils, many questions remain. For example, no complete inventory of the myriad structural formulae of soil organic N and P has ever been made. The factors that cause the resistance of soil organic matter to mineralization are still hotly debated. Is it possible to “engineer” forest soil organic matter so that it sequesters even more C? The role of microbial species diversity in forest C, N, and P cycling is poorly understood. The difficulty in measuring the contribution of roots to soil organic C, N, and P makes its contribution uncertain. Finally, global differences in climate, soils, and species make the extrapolation of any one important study difficult to extrapolate to forest soils worldwide.