Nutrient Cycling in Forests and beyond—towards Integrating Different Approaches

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2021) | Viewed by 2560

Special Issue Editors

Institute of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Kraków, Poland
Interests: ecological stoichiometry; biogeochemistry; ecosystem ecology; food webs; trophic interactions; food chain; nutrient cycling; nutritional ecology; plant-insect interactions; life history; bee; wild bees; xylophages, saproxylophages; fungi
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester M1 5GD, UK
Interests: plant–soil–fungal interactions; nutrient cycling; ecosystem ecology; tropical ecology; ecosystem disturbance and recovery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

         Nutrient cycling is an endless biogeochemical process involving transfer of nutrients through cells, organisms, communities, ecosystems, and finally the biosphere. It interacts with food web dynamics via an array of biochemical reactions performed by living organisms to live and reproduce. In these reactions, a countless number of mutable molecules are being built and degraded based on immutable atoms of approximately twenty-five chemical elements. We have knowledge of nutrient cycling in forests, from rocks and soil, through microorganisms, plants, and various components of food webs into dead matter that is decomposed and recycled again and again. Studies of nutrient cycling allowed us to understand that specific nutrients are being moved in specific proportions within and between ecosystems, for example, in animal bodies, plant seeds, or pollen rain, sometimes in great amounts. This knowledge, however, is scattered and disorganized, and a synergistic approach, linking various levels of organization and different frameworks, is needed to elucidate mechanisms shaping nutrient cycles in forests. Therefore, in this Special Issue, studies including, but not limited to, ecological stoichiometry, nutritional geometry, and omics, and covering all levels of organization, from cells to ecosystems, will be accepted. Publications synergistically linking various approaches are especially welcome. 

Dr. Michał Filipiak
Dr. Francis Q. Brearley
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • nutrient cycling
  • ecological interactions
  • food webs
  • food chain
  • consumer
  • nutritional ecology
  • trophic ecology
  • trophic interactions
  • nutritional limitation
  • ecosystem ecology
  • decomposition
  • mineralization
  • ecological stoichiometry
  • nutritional geometry

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 2354 KiB  
Article
Contrasting Litter Nutrient and Metal Inputs and Soil Chemistry among Five Common Eastern North American Tree Species
by Neil F. J. Ott and Shaun A. Watmough
Forests 2021, 12(5), 613; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f12050613 - 13 May 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2061
Abstract
Forest composition has been altered throughout Eastern North America, and changes in species dominance may alter nutrient cycling patterns, influencing nutrient availability and distribution in soils. To assess whether nutrients and metals in litterfall and soil differed among sites influenced by five common [...] Read more.
Forest composition has been altered throughout Eastern North America, and changes in species dominance may alter nutrient cycling patterns, influencing nutrient availability and distribution in soils. To assess whether nutrients and metals in litterfall and soil differed among sites influenced by five common Ontario tree species (balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.), white pine (Pinus strobus L.), sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.)), litterfall and soil chemistry were measured at a managed forest in Central Ontario, Canada. Carbon (C) and macronutrient (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg)) inputs in litterfall varied significantly among sites, primarily due to differences in litterfall mass, which was greatest in deciduous-dominated sites, while differences in elemental concentrations played relatively minor roles. Trace metal inputs in litterfall also varied, with much higher zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) in litterfall within yellow birch dominated stands. Mineral soil oxide composition was very similar among sites, suggesting that differences in soil chemistry were influenced by forest composition rather than parent material. Litter in deciduous-dominated stands had lower C/N, and soils were less acidic than conifer-dominated sites. Deciduous stands also had much shorter elemental residence times in the organic horizons, especially for base cations (Ca, Mg, K) compared with conifer-dominated sites, although total soil nutrient pools were relatively consistent among sites. A change from stands with greater conifer abundance to mixed hardwoods has likely led to more rapid cycling of elements in forests, particularly for base cations. These differences are apparent at small scales (100 m2) in mixed forests that characterize many forested regions in Eastern North America and elsewhere. Full article
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