Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology: Principles and Applications

365 Pages·2012·14.28 MB·English

by  Göran I. Ågren

Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology
Human activities impact the environment and modify the cycles of
important elements such as carbon and nitrogen from local to global
scales.Inordertomaintainlong-termandsustainableuseoftheworld’s
naturalresourcesitisimportantthatweunderstandhowandwhyecosys-
temsrespondtosuchchanges.
Thisbookexplainsthestructureandfunctioningofterrestrialecosystems,
usingexamplesrangingfromthearctictothetropicstodemonstratehow
theyvaryunderdifferentconditions.Thisknowledgeisdevelopedintoa
setofprinciplesthatcanbeusedasstartingpointsforanalysingquestions
about ecosystem behaviour. Ecosystem dynamics are also considered,
illustratinghowecosystemsdevelopandchangeoverarangeoftemporal
andspatial scales,and howthey reacttoperturbations, whethernatural
orman-made.Throughoutthebook,descriptivestudiesaremergedwith
simplemathematicalmodelstoreinforcetheconceptsdiscussedandaid
thedevelopmentofpredictivetools.
go¨ran i. a˚gren isProfessorofSystemsEcologyattheSwedishUniversity
ofAgriculturalSciencesandhasbeenteachingecosystemecologyandthe
useofmathematicalmodelsinecologyformorethan30years.Hisresearch
focuses on carbon and nitrogen cycles in terrestrial ecosystems and how
theseprocessescanbemostefficientlyexpressedinmathematicalterms.
folke o. andersson is Emeritus Professor of Ecosystem Ecology at
the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. He has been active in
ecosystem research and teaching since the 1960s. His research includes
areassuchasdescriptiveplantecologyandappliedissuessuchastheeffects
of air pollution and management on forests, including field experiments
withacidification,fertilisationandliming.

Terrestrial Ecosystem
Ecology
Principles and Applications
˚
Go¨ran I. Agren
SwedishUniversityofAgriculturalSciences
Folke O. Andersson
SwedishUniversityofAgriculturalSciences
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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#CambridgeUniversityPress2012
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Firstpublished2012
PrintedintheUnitedKingdomattheUniversityPress,Cambridge
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
A˚gren,Go¨ranI.
Terrestrialecosystemecology:principlesandapplications/Go¨ranI.A˚gren,
FolkeO.Andersson.
p. cm.
ISBN978-1-107-01107-6(Hardback)–ISBN978-1-107-64825-8(Paperback)
1. Ecology. 2. Climaticchanges–Environmentalaspects. 3. Global
environmentalchange. 4. Biologicalsystems. 5. Ecophysiology.
I. Andersson,Folke,1933– II. Title.
QH541.A3262011
577–dc23
2011019454
ISBN978-1-107-01107-6Hardback
ISBN978-1-107-64825-8Paperback
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“Wemustnotforgetthatwhenradiumwas discoverednooneknew
that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure
science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be con-
sidered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it. It must
bedonefor itself,forthebeautyofscience, andthenthereisalways
the chance that a scientific discovery may become like the radium a
benefitforhumanity.”
MarieCurie(1867–1934),
LectureatVassarCollege,
May14,1921

Contents
Listofboxes pagexiii
Preface xv
Prologue Environmental changes and ecosystem effects: 1
two historical examples
Acidrain 1
Globalwarming 4
Approachestosolutions 5
Furtherreading 6
SECTION I HISTORYAND CONCEPTS 7
1 History of ecology 8
Protoecology 8
Earlyecology 9
Theecosystemconcept 11
Modernecology 12
Biomeecology 13
Alternativebiomeecology:theHubbardBrookproject 14
Postbiomeecosystemresearch 14
Laterecosystemresearch 15
Ecosystemresearchrequireslong-termobservationsandaspects 16
Landscapeecology 16
Gaiaandnon-equilibriumecology 16
Sustainabilityandbiodiversity 17
Furtherreading 17
2 Ecology, ecosystem and ecosystem science 18
Ecology 18
Ecosystem 20
Ecosystemscienceorecosystemecology? 21
Furtherreading 24
3 Ecosystem ecology: cornerstones and scientific 25
methodology
Anoteonterminology 25
Understandingprocesses 25
Basicprinciplesandscientificmethodology 29
Cornerstones 30
Massbalance 30
Steadystate 31
viii CONTENTS
Limitingnutrients 32
Optimality 32
Oneequationsaysmorethanathousandwords 34
Understandingthecornerstones 35
Furtherreading 38
SECTION II ECOSYSTEM STRUCTURE 39
AND FUNCTION
4 Ecosystem structure: site factors, soil and vegetation 40
Terrestrialecosystemsandsitefactors 40
Soilphysicsandchemistry 41
Thesoilinanecosystemcontext 41
Soilphysicalproperties 42
Soilair 45
Soilwater 46
Soilchemicalproperties,mineralnutrientsandplants 46
Soilreactionsandavailabilityofmineralnutrients 47
Soiltypes 49
Ecosystemlayering 51
Terrestrialbiomes 55
Vegetation 55
Featuresofterrestrialbiomesandecosystems 56
Furtherreading 62
5 Energy and water 64
Solarenergy 64
Waterbalance 72
Evapotranspiration 75
Potentialandactualevapotranspiration 78
SPAC:Thesoil–plant–atmospherecontinuum 82
Furtherreading 87
6 Plant production 88
Photosynthesisatleaflevel 88
C3,C4andCAMphotosynthesis 92
Leafareaindexandspecificleafarea 95
Lightextinctionwithinacanopy 98
Photosynthesisatcanopylevel 102
Light-useefficiency 103
Water-useefficiency 105
Plantrespiration 106
Growthrespiration 106
Maintenancerespiration 108
Rootrespirationandionuptake 108
Plantnutrientrelationships 108
CONTENTS ix
Nutrientproductivity 109
Nutrient-useefficiency 111
Plantallocation 112
Plantnutrientuptake 117
Steady-statenutrition 121
Globalplanttraits 121
Furtherreading 123
7 Soil organic matter dynamics 124
Litterandsoilorganicmatter 124
Amodeloflitterdecomposition 125
Litterquality 130
Abioticcontrols 135
Extracellularenzymes 137
Othercontrollingfactors 139
Elementconcentrationindecomposers 139
Soilfoodwebs 140
Modelsofsoilorganicmatter 141
Furtherreading 144
8 Organisms and ecosystem processes 145
Speciesandecosystems 145
Conceptsofstability 145
Speciesmatter 147
...Ormaybenot 149
Furtherreading 150
9 Element cycles 151
Ecosystemscale 153
Thecarboncycle 153
Thenitrogencycle 161
Thephosphoruscycle 169
Thepotassiumcycle 171
Thecalciumcycle 172
Themagnesiumcycle 173
Thesulfurcycle 174
ElementcyclinginatemperateNorwayspruceforest 175
Comparisonofelementcyclingindifferentterrestrial
ecosystems 180
Biomass 180
Production 180
Plantbiomassturnover 182
Nitrogen-useefficiency:NUE 183
Degreeofopenness 184
Turnovertimeofsoilcarbon 185
Turnovertimeofsoilnitrogen 185
Soilcarbon/plantcarbonratio 186
Soilnitrogen/plantnitrogenratio 186