Suchergebnisse

Dealing with the specialized science of forest soil characterization, this review of the physical, chemical and biological properties of forest soils, and their implications on forest vegetation, discusses topics from nutrient science to climate change.

Soils provide numerous essential services in terrestrial ecosystems, ranging from the support of plant growth in agriculture and forestry to moderation of flood risks, water purification, large-scale carbon storage, and support of biodiversity. However, despite soils' essential roles, they are threatened by sealing, compaction, reductions in quality and organic-carbon content, and erosion, and insufficiently included in sustainability planning in the EU. A multidisciplinary group of European experts has examined the implications of recent scientific research for integrated policy solutions towards ensuring the sustainability of Europe's soils, and identified many opportunities for policy-makers to safeguard this valuable resource for the benefit of the EU's citizens.

Cover -- Half Title Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- About the Editor -- Table of Contents -- Glossary -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- List of Equations -- List of Abbreviations -- Preface -- Chapter 1 Introduction to Forest Soils -- Introduction -- 1.1. The Background and Definition of Forest Soils -- 1.2. History of Forest Soil Science -- 1.3. Geography of Forest Soils -- References -- Chapter 2 Composition of Forest Soils -- Introduction -- 2.1. Soil Profile/Horizon -- 2.2. Formation of Soil -- 2.3. Physical Properties of Soil -- 2.4. Soil Erosion In Forest Soils -- 2.5. Soil-Water Movement -- References -- Chapter 3 Forest Soils and Its Dynamics -- Introduction -- 3.1. Components of Forest Soils -- 3.2. Nutrient Cycling Dynamics -- 3.3. Decomposition, Its Regulation, And Control -- 3.4. Forest Soils Productivity -- 3.5. Enhancement Of Forest Soils Productivity -- References -- Chapter 4 Forest Soils Biology -- Introduction -- 4.1. Forest And Root System -- 4.2. Root System -- 4.3. Forest Soils Faunal Components -- References -- Chapter 5 Chemical Properties of Forest Soils -- Introduction -- 5.1. Soil Exchange -- 5.2. Soil Ph In Forest Soils -- 5.3. Precipitation And Sorption -- 5.4. Interaction Of Nutrients, Soil Organic Matter and Microbial Community -- 5.5. Oxidation And Reduction Reaction -- References -- Chapter 6 Forest Soils and Mapping -- Introduction -- 6.1. Soil Classification -- 6.2. Soil Survey Types and Categories -- 6.3. Mapping And Soil Data Illustration -- 6.4. Soil Geography and Development In Mapping -- 6.5. Gis And Soil Analysis -- 6.6. Soil Prediction Using Kriging Interpolation -- 6.7. Forest Soil Sampling -- References -- Chapter 7 Forest Soils Management -- Introduction -- 7.1. Current State of Rainforests -- 7.2. Forest Soil And Water Protection -- 7.3. Understanding Risk Management

Biology also Influences WeatheringSoils Develop Across Topography Over Time; Biology also Drives Soil Formation; Vegetation and Soils Develop Together, But at Different Rates; Soil Properties Influence Vegetation Development; Chapter 4: Soil Organic Matter; Overview; The Highest Soil Organic Matter may be in the Canopy; Forest Soil Profiles Typically Begin with an O Horizon; O Horizons have a Distinctive Structure; Many O Horizon Classifications have been Developed: are they Useful?; Organic Matter is a Vital Part of Mineral Horizons Too; Charcoal can Also be Important in Forest Soils.

Soil remediation techniques, sources of funding and the amount of expenditure being used are significantly higher in numbers in developed countries than in developing countries. Specific examples are those in Eastern Europe where governments have to take appropriate steps in terms of funding because all of the companies were state owned and cleaning up of contaminated sites needed to be financed exclusively by government budget. Increasing problems with soil remediation costs in developing countries have made different governments, institutions and people to start forming international institutions which deal with remediation funding all over the word. The authors use research methods appropriate for social science which are represented in the paper through the analysis of official reports and documents, scientific and research papers and other sources of information relevant for the topic of the paper. The aim of the paper is to show the best examples of international funding systems for soil remediation that have already been implemented. Special emphasis will be put on types of institutions, instruments and methods that are being used in international funding for soil remediation.

Growing human population and activities such as the continued increase in fossil fuel consumption, fertilizer use, and biomass burning have considerably increased the amount of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition. Until recently, elevated N deposition has been mainly a concern in temperate, highly industrialized regions but deposition of N increasingly occurs also in fast-developing and industrializing tropical regions like Latin America and South-East Asia. The most harmful impacts of elevated N deposition are increases in soil N2O (a long-lived greenhouse gas also contributing to the depletion of stratospheric ozone) and NO emissions (important for the formation of tropospheric ozone and acid rain) as well as N-leaching to ground and surface waters. The few studies that have been conducted in tropical forests showed that the N status (i.e. high or low N availability) of ecosystems is the key to estimate reactions to elevated N input. For this reason, the present thesis assessed the internal N cycling of tropical soils under old-growth forests in Ecuador, Costa Rica and Panama. Beforehand, two ways of measuring gross N cycling rates in soils were contrasted, one based on in-situ processing and incubation of soil samples and the other one based on laboratory processing and incubation. Both treatments were followed by the 15N pool dilution technique. This first investigation revealed that reliable data of gross N cycling rates in tropical forest soils can only be obtained from samples that were processed (i.e. injected, incubated and extracted) in-situ. In view of decreasing gross N mineralization rates and increasing gross nitrification rates occurring from soil storage and laboratory incubation before analysis, it followed that the processing of soils has to be undertaken in-situ ...

Citizen science initiatives for soil literacy
Alba Peiro and Francisco Sanz from the Ibercivis Foundation, Claudia Cappello and Tanja Mimmo from the Free University of Bolzano, guide us through citizen science initiatives for soil literacy that are integral to the ECHO project, Citizen science projects offer an effective framework for increasing participants' knowledge in specific scientific fields. They also play a crucial role in reshaping participants' perspectives on the scientific process and attitudes towards science and environmental issues. To ensure a significant increase in literacy, citizen science initiatives require meticulous design that extends beyond merely involving participants in scientific studies. This involves facilitating interactions with scientists and providing high-quality educational materials (Bonney et al., 2009).

Fulltext ; Soil investigation may be carried out on various levels of knowledge, research capacity and proficiency. Scientists commonly apply advanced methodology for soil resources inventory, including the professional terminology for landscape and soil description, data acquisition and processing, soil classification and mapping, soil and land evaluation. By default, an internationally accepted system should be recommended. An implementation of such methodology is also recommended in more advanced courses of soil science studies on bachelor and master study levels. However, the long-term teaching experience reveals difficulties connected mainly with complicated terminology and excessive number of characteristics obligatory to know, and justifies some simplification of the language, rules and structure at the introductory stage of teaching. This was the base and rationale for the preparation of simplified Guidelines for Soil Description and Classification: Central and Eastern European Students' Version. This book is divided into three parts. The first one - Site and soil description - follows the layout and content of professional edition of Guidelines for Soil Description, 4th ed., published by FAO (2005), simplified for educational purposes. The order of description has been modified to correspond to the layout of an original Soil description sheet. The second part - Soil classification - is a simplified WRB classification (based on a 2014/2015 edition) limited to reference soil groups known from Central Europe. The third part is an Illustrated explanatory guide that includes: i) examples of typical soil profiles for all Central European Reference Soil Groups; ii) morphological features important for soil description and identification in the field; iii) soil-landscape relationships. The photos have been enriched with graphical tips helpful at the recognizing of important soil features. The textbook was developed in the framework of EU Erasmus+ FACES project (Freely Accessible Central European Soil) aiming to facilitate the knowledge and implementation of an international rules of soil characterization adopted by the FAO. It will be used to unify the presentation of soil data collected in the partner countries. The interpretation of soil data fully based on the international soil classification WRB (World Reference Base for Soil Resources 2015) as WRB was endorsed by the lnternational Union of Soil Sciences (lUSS) and accepted by the European Commission as an official system for the European Union. Therefore, this guideline might be a starting point for preparation of basic teaching materials to spread the knowledge on an internationally recommended rules and terminology for soil description and classification. However, this guideline is designed as teaching tool for students in Central and Eastern European countries and therefore it may not be applicable worldwide. Moreover, it is suited for the "first step" training, and it is not substituting any professional original classification. Authors of this guidebook assume that the users are familiar with the basic knowledge in soil science. Therefore, the guidelines do not contain explanations related to basic soil forming factors, soil forming processes and basic physico-chemical features.

Determining the identity and function of forest soil organisms is essential to understand their relative roles, but also to determine their resilience after environmental perturbations. These characteristics are scientific challenges because of the high biological diversity of forest soil organisms, but also because many of them currently remain unknown. In this context, this review presents a snapshot of the difficulty associated with soil organism characterization, the uniqueness of forest soils and methodological and conceptual developments of the last decade. This review also presents the progress in political consideration of soil biology and highlights recent projects related to soil biology and ecosystem services.