Phosphorus in Action : Biological Processes in Soil Phosphorus Cycling

Phosphorus (P) is a finite resource which is essential for life.

It is a limiting nutrient in many ecosystems but also a pollutant which can affect biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems and change the ecology of water bodies.

This book collects the latest information on biological processes in soil P cycling, which to date have remained much less understood than physico-chemical processes.

The methods section presents spectroscopic techniques and the characterization of microbial P forms, as well as the use of tracers, molecular approaches and modeling of soil-plant systems.

The section on processes deals with mycorrhizal symbioses, microbial P solubilization, soil macrofauna, phosphatase enzymes and rhizosphere processes.

On the system level, P cycling is examined for grasslands, arctic and alpine soils, forest plantations, tropical forests, and dryland regions.

Further, P management with respect to animal production and cropping, and the interactions between global change and P cycling, are treated.