Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Concepts of soils
- 2 Pedogenic processes and pathways of horizon differentiation
- 3 Soil phases: the inorganic solid phase
- 4 Soil phases: the organic solid phase
- 5 Soil phases: the liquid phase
- 6 Soil phases: the gaseous phase
- 7 Soil phases: the living phase
- 8 The State Factor theory of soil formation
- 9 Factors of soil formation: parent material. As exemplified by a comparison of granitic and basaltic soils
- 10 Factors of soil formation: climate. As exemplified by volcanic ash soils
- 11 Factors of soil formation: topography
- 12 Factors of soil formation: biota. As exemplified by case studies on the direct imprint of trees on trace metal concentrations in soils
- 13 Factors of soil formation: time
- 14 Soil formation on Earth and beyond: the role of additional soil-forming factors
- 15 Soil functions and land use
- 16 Physical degradation of soils
- 17 Chemical degradation of soils
- 18 The future of soil research
- Appendix: Naming soils and soil horizons
- References
- Index
12 - Factors of soil formation: biota. As exemplified by case studies on the direct imprint of trees on trace metal concentrations in soils
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 November 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Concepts of soils
- 2 Pedogenic processes and pathways of horizon differentiation
- 3 Soil phases: the inorganic solid phase
- 4 Soil phases: the organic solid phase
- 5 Soil phases: the liquid phase
- 6 Soil phases: the gaseous phase
- 7 Soil phases: the living phase
- 8 The State Factor theory of soil formation
- 9 Factors of soil formation: parent material. As exemplified by a comparison of granitic and basaltic soils
- 10 Factors of soil formation: climate. As exemplified by volcanic ash soils
- 11 Factors of soil formation: topography
- 12 Factors of soil formation: biota. As exemplified by case studies on the direct imprint of trees on trace metal concentrations in soils
- 13 Factors of soil formation: time
- 14 Soil formation on Earth and beyond: the role of additional soil-forming factors
- 15 Soil functions and land use
- 16 Physical degradation of soils
- 17 Chemical degradation of soils
- 18 The future of soil research
- Appendix: Naming soils and soil horizons
- References
- Index
Summary
The role of biota on the genesis and properties of soils was emphasized and thoroughly illustrated in the various models of soil formation published by, among others, Dokuchaev, Joffe, Thorp, Jenny, Wilde, Simonson, Hole, Runge, Johnson, Brimhall, Paton and their collaborators. Indeed, organisms are abundant, with their number reaching up to 1012 per m2 of soil for bacteria, essentially ubiquitous since they are found even under the most extreme climatic conditions on the Earth surface, and highly active; forests alone assimilate up to 67% of all the CO2 that is removed from the atmosphere by terrestrial ecosystems.
With respect to soil bodies, the activity of the biota contributes to the addition, removal, transformation and translocation of matter (sensu Simonson) through a myriad of processes involving organisms such as algae, lichens, mosses, fungi, bacteria, nematodes, acaria, earthworms, termites, ants, beetles, moles, pocket gophers, prairie dogs, birds, badgers, grasses, brushes and trees. The chemical, physical, mineralogical and morphological traits of soil materials are affected by living organisms, either individually or as communities, and key edaphic properties like pH, organic matter quantity and quality, cation exchange capacity, base saturation, nutrient concentration and availability, clay content, colour, porosity, hydraulic conductivity, aggregate formation and stability, oxide content, mineral composition, and horizon diversity have responded to biotic activity since the Carboniferous (Table 12.1).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Soils: Basic Concepts and Future Challenges , pp. 165 - 180Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006
- 1
- Cited by