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Terrestrial nitrogen cycles: processes, ecosystem strategies and management impacts
Book reciews
77
Clark, F. E. and Rosswall, T. (eds) Terrestrial nitrogen cycles: processes, ecosystem strategies and management impacts (Ecological Bulletins, No. 33). Stockholm: Swedish Natural Science Research Council, 198 1. 7 14 pp. A collation of conference papers presented in 1979, the volume covers terrestrial nitrogen cycles under the headings of: Introductory papers (general models), Processes. Ecosystem strategies, Management impacts, and Conclusions. There is a total of 40 papers, some with rapporteurs’ comments. References are given at the end of each paper, with a subject index at the end of the volume. There is no author index. The emphasis is on biological and pedological processes and no paper deals primarily with eutrophication and nitrate in surface water and groundwater. Alternative compartment and flow models are discussed first, with treatments of rate-limiting processes and residence times. A major concern is the dynamics of carbon and nitrogen in grassland soils. The section on processes includes the following topics: dry and wet deposition of N compounds, N fixation, litter decomposition, leaching from litter, mineralization, immobilization, mycorrhiza, plant growth and N, Ammonium fixation, mobility and volatilization, nitrification and denitrification, leaching and erosion losses. The section on ecosytem strategies includes N cycling in tundra, coniferous forest, deciduous forest, grassland, savanna, arid and tropical rainforest ecosystems, with a paper on succession. Management impacts discussed include fertilizer effects and the topics of grazing, irrigation, drainage, clear-cutting and fire. The concluding section covers problems, present knowledge and future research needs. The book presents a wide-ranging coverage of knowledge up to the 1978-79 date, with the inclusion of some post-conference presentation literature from 1980. The treatments range from the broader reviews to specific reporting on research topics, albeit set in a broader context. It is primarily an ecological text and will not only be useful to ecologists as a review volume but also to agriculturalists and water management scientists seeking information on biological and pedological processes. It would have been pertinent to include more explicit treatment of nitrogen ecosystem outputs and water quality, though useful data are to be found in several chapters on this topic. The book will have an important place for research workers on many aspects of nitrogen, but also will be useful for advanced undergraduate reading for students specializing in soils. Stephen Trudgill Department of Geography,
University of Shefield
77
Clark, F. E. and Rosswall, T. (eds) Terrestrial nitrogen cycles: processes, ecosystem strategies and management impacts (Ecological Bulletins, No. 33). Stockholm: Swedish Natural Science Research Council, 198 1. 7 14 pp. A collation of conference papers presented in 1979, the volume covers terrestrial nitrogen cycles under the headings of: Introductory papers (general models), Processes. Ecosystem strategies, Management impacts, and Conclusions. There is a total of 40 papers, some with rapporteurs’ comments. References are given at the end of each paper, with a subject index at the end of the volume. There is no author index. The emphasis is on biological and pedological processes and no paper deals primarily with eutrophication and nitrate in surface water and groundwater. Alternative compartment and flow models are discussed first, with treatments of rate-limiting processes and residence times. A major concern is the dynamics of carbon and nitrogen in grassland soils. The section on processes includes the following topics: dry and wet deposition of N compounds, N fixation, litter decomposition, leaching from litter, mineralization, immobilization, mycorrhiza, plant growth and N, Ammonium fixation, mobility and volatilization, nitrification and denitrification, leaching and erosion losses. The section on ecosytem strategies includes N cycling in tundra, coniferous forest, deciduous forest, grassland, savanna, arid and tropical rainforest ecosystems, with a paper on succession. Management impacts discussed include fertilizer effects and the topics of grazing, irrigation, drainage, clear-cutting and fire. The concluding section covers problems, present knowledge and future research needs. The book presents a wide-ranging coverage of knowledge up to the 1978-79 date, with the inclusion of some post-conference presentation literature from 1980. The treatments range from the broader reviews to specific reporting on research topics, albeit set in a broader context. It is primarily an ecological text and will not only be useful to ecologists as a review volume but also to agriculturalists and water management scientists seeking information on biological and pedological processes. It would have been pertinent to include more explicit treatment of nitrogen ecosystem outputs and water quality, though useful data are to be found in several chapters on this topic. The book will have an important place for research workers on many aspects of nitrogen, but also will be useful for advanced undergraduate reading for students specializing in soils. Stephen Trudgill Department of Geography,
University of Shefield