Multi Scale Biogeochemical Processes In Soil Ecosystems

MULTI-SCALE BIOGEOCHEMICAL PROCESSES IN SOIL ECOSYSTEMS Provides a state-of-the-art overview of research in soil biogeochemical processes and strategies for greenhouse gas mitigation under climate change Food security and soil health for the rapidly growing human population are threatened by increased temperature and drought, soil erosion and soil quality degradation, and other problems caused by human activities and a changing climate. Because greenhouse gas emission is the primary driver of climate change, a complete understanding of the cycles of carbon and major nutritional elements is critical for developing innovative strategies to sustain agricultural development and environmental conservation. Multi-Scale Biogeochemical Processes in Soil Ecosystems: Critical Reactions and Resilience to Climate Changes is an up-to-date overview of recent research in soil biogeochemical processes and applications in ecosystem management. Organized into three parts, the text examines molecular-scale processes and critical reactions, presents ecosystem-scale studies of ecological hotspots, and discusses large-scale modeling and prediction of global biogeochemical cycles. Part of the Wiley - IUPAC Series on Biophysico-Chemical Processes in Environmental Systems, this authoritative volume: Provides readers with a systematic and interdisciplinary approach to sustainable agricultural development and management of soil ecosystems in a changing climate Features contributions from an international team of leading scientists Examines topics such as soil organic matter stabilization, soil biogeochemistry modeling, and soil responses to environmental changes Discusses strategies for mitigating greenhouse gas emission and improving soil health and ecosystems resilience Includes an introduction to working across scales to project soil biogeochemical responses to climatic change Multi-Scale Biogeochemical Processes in Soil Ecosystems: Critical Reactions and Resilience to Climate Changes is essential reading for scientists, engineers, agronomists, chemists, biologists, academic researchers, consultants, and other professionals whose work involves the nutrient cycle, ecosystem management, and climate change.

Provides an essential introduction to modeling terrestrial ecosystems in Earth system models for graduate students and researchers.

This book by soil scientists and ecologists reviews how and why plants influence soils. Topics include effects on mineral weathering, soil structure, and soil organic matter and nutrient dynamics, case studies of soil-plant interactions in specific biomes and of secondary chemicals influencing nutrient cycling, the rhizosphere, and potential evolutionary consequences of plant-induced soil changes. This is the first volume that specifically highlights the effects of plants on soils and their feedbacks to plants. By contrast, other texts on soil-plant relationships emphasize effects of soil fertility on plants, following the strongly agronomic character of most research in this area. The aspects discussed in this volume are crucial for understanding terrestrial ecosystems, biogeochemistry and soil genesis. The book is directed to terrestrial ecologists, foresters, soil scientists, environmental scientists and biogeochemists, and to students following specialist courses in these fields.

The globally important nature of wetland ecosystems has led to their increased protection and restoration as well as their use in engineered systems. Underpinning the beneficial functions of wetlands are a unique suite of physical, chemical, and biological processes that regulate elemental cycling in soils and the water column. This book provides an in-depth coverage of these wetland biogeochemical processes related to the cycling of macroelements including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur, secondary and trace elements, and toxic organic compounds. In this synthesis, the authors combine more than 100 years of experience studying wetlands and biogeochemistry to look inside the black box of elemental transformations in wetland ecosystems. This new edition is updated throughout to include more topics and provide an integrated view of the coupled nature of biogeochemical cycles in wetland systems. The influence of the elemental cycles is discussed at a range of scales in the context of environmental change including climate, sea level rise, and water quality. Frequent examples of key methods and major case studies are also included to help the reader extend the basic theories for application in their own system. Some of the major topics discussed are: Flooded soil and sediment characteristics Aerobic-anaerobic interfaces Redox chemistry in flooded soil and sediment systems Anaerobic microbial metabolism Plant adaptations to reducing conditions Regulators of organic matter decomposition and accretion Major nutrient sources and sinks Greenhouse gas production and emission Elemental flux processes Remediation of contaminated soils and sediments Coupled C-N-P-S processes Consequences of environmental change in wetlands# The book provides the foundation for a basic understanding of key biogeochemical processes and its applications to solve real world problems. It is detailed, but also assists the reader with box inserts, artfully designed diagrams, and summary tables all supported by numerous current references. This book is an excellent resource for senior undergraduates and graduate students studying ecosystem biogeochemistry with a focus in wetlands and aquatic systems.

Environmental considerations are playing an increasingly important role in determining management strategies for soil and land. Many important environmental issues involve aspects of the biology of soil, and these issues cannot be considered satisfactorily in isolation from a general understanding of soil biology as a whole. This is the second edition of a book first published in 1989 and now thoroughly rewritten to focus on soil ecology and environmental issues. The first part of the book provides an introduction to soils, its inhabitants, and their activities. The second part covers the influence of man on the natural cycles of soil. Topics such as acid rain and nitrogen fertilizers are considered alongside pesticides and genetically modified organisms. A new final chapter has been added which considers how, as we move towards the next millennium, we can apply the concept of sustainability to issues such as global climate change and farming systems. The book is directed at advanced undergraduate and immediate postgraduate students in environmental science and soil ecology, with students of physical geography and earth sciences as an important secondary market.

Global biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nutrients are increasingly affected by human activities. So far, modeling has been central for our understanding of how this will affect ecosystem functioning and the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nutrients. These models have been forced to adopt a reductive approach built on the flow of carbon and nutrients between pools that are difficult or even impossible to verify with empirical evidence. Furthermore, while some of these models include the response in physiology, ecology and biogeography of primary producers to environmental change, the microbial part of the ecosystem is generally poorly represented or lacking altogether. The principal pool of carbon and nutrients in soil is the organic matter. The turnover of this reservoir is governed by microorganisms that act as catalytic converters of environmental conditions into biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nutrients. The dependency of this conversion activity on individual environmental conditions such as pH, moisture and temperature has been frequently studied. On the contrary, only rarely have the microorganisms involved in carrying out the processes been identified, and one of the biggest challenges for advancing our understanding of biogeochemical processes is to identify the microorganisms carrying out a specific set of metabolic processes and how they partition their carbon and nutrient use. We also need to identify the factors governing these activities and if they result in feedback mechanisms that alter the growth, activity and interaction between primary producers and microorganisms. By determining how different groups of microorganisms respond to individual environmental conditions by allocating carbon and nutrients to production of biomass, CO2 and other products, a mechanistic as well as quantitative understanding of formation and decomposition of organic matter, and the production and consumption of greenhouse gases, can be achieved. In this Research Topic, supported by the Swedish research councils' programme "Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in a Changing Landscape" (BECC), we intend to promote this alternative framework to address how cycling of carbon and nutrients will be altered in a changing environment from the first-principle mechanisms that drive them – namely the ecology, physiology and biogeography of microorganisms – and on up to emerging global biogeochemical patterns. This novel and unconventional approach has the potential to generate fresh insights that can open up new horizons and stimulate rapid conceptual development in our basic understanding of the regulating factors for global biogeochemical cycles. The vision for the research topic is to facilitate such progress by bringing together leading scientists as proponents of several disciplines. By bridging Microbial Ecology and Biogeochemistry, connecting microbial activities at the micro-scale to carbon fluxes at the ecosystem-scale, and linking above- and belowground ecosystem functioning, we can leap forward from the current understanding of the global biogeochemical cycles.

A source of information for environmental scientists involved in research of the inputs, cycling and losses of nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems. A division has been made into a series of sections, dealing in turn with inputs, losses, turnover and plant uptake

This open access book synthesizes leading-edge science and management information about forest and rangeland soils of the United States. It offers ways to better understand changing conditions and their impacts on soils, and explores directions that positively affect the future of forest and rangeland soil health. This book outlines soil processes and identifies the research needed to manage forest and rangeland soils in the United States. Chapters give an overview of the state of forest and rangeland soils research in the Nation, including multi-decadal programs (chapter 1), then summarizes various human-caused and natural impacts and their effects on soil carbon, hydrology, biogeochemistry, and biological diversity (chapters 2–5). Other chapters look at the effects of changing conditions on forest soils in wetland and urban settings (chapters 6–7). Impacts include: climate change, severe wildfires, invasive species, pests and diseases, pollution, and land use change. Chapter 8 considers approaches to maintaining or regaining forest and rangeland soil health in the face of these varied impacts. Mapping, monitoring, and data sharing are discussed in chapter 9 as ways to leverage scientific and human resources to address soil health at scales from the landscape to the individual parcel (monitoring networks, data sharing Web sites, and educational soils-centered programs are tabulated in appendix B). Chapter 10 highlights opportunities for deepening our understanding of soils and for sustaining long-term ecosystem health and appendix C summarizes research needs. Nine regional summaries (appendix A) offer a more detailed look at forest and rangeland soils in the United States and its Affiliates.