Soil Biology in Tropical Ecosystems

By Tancredo Souza

Book Overview

1. The soil ecosystem at the tropics

1.1 Introduction. 1

1.2 Soil formation. 2

1.3 Soil forming factors. 5

1.3.1 Climate. 5

1.3.2 Parent material 6

1.3.3 Topography. 6

1.3.4 Organisms. 7

1.3.5 Time. 8

1.4 Soil properties. 8

1.4.1 Soil organic carbon. 8

1.4.2 Soil pH.. 9

1.4.3 Soil aggregation. 10

1.4.4 Soil moisture (soil water) 10

1.5 Conclusion. 10

References. 11

2. The living soil 24

2.1 Introduction. 24

2.2 The soil organisms. 25

2.3 Structure of the soil food web. 27

2.4 Patterns of soil biodiversity. 30

2.5 Identifying soil biota functional groups. 32

2.6 Conclusions. 33

References. 33

3. Soil organisms and ecological processes. 38

3.1 Introduction. 39

3.2 Soil nutrient availability. 39

3.3 Herbivory. 42

3.4 Biological control 43

3.5 Soil structure. 44

3.6 Symbiosis. 44

3.7 Plant growth. 46

3.8 Conclusions. 47

References. 47

4. Plant-soil feedback. 57

4.1 Introduction. 58

4.2 Plant species influencing soil biological properties. 59

4.3 Plant-arthropod interactions. 60

4.4 Soil structure. 60

4.5 Plant communities influenced by soil biota. 61

4.6 Conclusions. 62

References. 62

5. Trophic structure and soil biological communities. 67

5.1 Introduction. 68

5.2 Root exudates. 69

5.3 Net primary production. 72

5.4 Plant litter 73

5.5 Conclusions. 74

References. 75

6. Land use and soil contamination in dry tropical ecosystems. 85

6.1 Introduction. 86

6.2 Land use and its effects on soil biological properties. 88

6.3 Soil organism's function in contaminated areas. 91

6.4 Conclusion. 93

References. 93

7. Natural ecosystems and biological invasion. 103

7.1 Introduction. 104

7.2 Soil food web in moist and dry tropical ecosystems. 106

7.3 Changing habitat of soil organisms. 107

7.4 The case of Cryptostegia madagascariensis and Prosopis juliflora in the northeastern Brazil 109

7.4.1 Plant community composition. 111

7.4.2 Nutrient cycling. 112

7.4.3 Symbionts - The case of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi 113

References. 115

8. Natural disasters. 132

8.1 Introduction. 132

8.2 Burning the living soil: The case of fire in West-Central Brazil 133

8.3 Landslide influence on soil organic matter content 136

8.4 Impacts of hurricanes on N: P stoichiometry. 137

8.5 Conclusion. 138

References. 139

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3031009487
• ISBN13: 9783031009488
• Release Date: May 2022
• Publisher: Springer
• Length: 139 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.1" x 9.2"