Driven By Nature: Plant Litter Quality and Decomposition
Edited by G Cadisch, Department of Biological Sciences, Wye College, University of London, UK; K E Giller, Department of Biological Sciences, Wye College, University of London, UK
Pub Date: November 1996
Hardback
432 pages
Readership
Those researching and managing the supply of nutrients to plants, i.e. soil scientists, plant physiologists and crop scientists.
Main Description
Biological management of nutrient supply to plants is intrinsically more complex than the provision of nutrients as inorganic fertilizers. We need to know whether the nutrients released are retained or lost from the system, whether rates of decomposition can be manipulated to improve nutrient use efficiency, and how the various fractions of plant residues translate into pools of organic matter in soil. Only then can predictive models for nutrient release, plant uptake and soil organic matter dynamics be truly tested and validated.
This book brings together contemporary ideas on the characterization and manipulation of plant quality and especially its role in soil organic matter formation and nutrient cycling. It contains work from the leading workers in both temperate and tropical systems. There are also contributions describing work outside decomposition in soil ecosystems, such as the work of plant biochemists and animal nutritionists, as research in these areas has provided many ideas and concepts used in plant quality analysis. A wide range of topics is covered from investigations at the molecular level through to management options for farmers in relation to optimising biological management of crop residues.
The work presented in this volume is valuable to all those researching and managing the supply of nutrients to plants. It is important reading for soil scientists, plant physiologists and crop scientists.
Main Contents
Part 1: Review: Any Progress?
• Plant Litter Quality and Decomposition: An Historical Overview, O W Heal, J M Anderson and M J Swift
Part 2: Pathways and Processes in Litter Decomposition
• Fungal Degradation of Lignin, K E Hammel
• Plant Degradation by Ruminants: Parallels with Litter Decomposition in Soil, A Chesson
• Role of Phenolic Secondary Metabolics in Plants and their Degradation in Nature, J B Harborne
• Decomposition Induced Changes in the Chemical Structure of Fallen Red Pine, White Spruce and Tamarack Logs, J A Baldock, T Sewell and P G Hatcher
• Solid-state NMR Investigations of Organic Transformations During the Decomposition of Plant Material in Soil, D W Hopkins and J A Chudek
• Kinetically Defined Litter Fractions Based on Respiration Measurements, H Marstorp
Part 3: Foraging, Feeding and Feedbacks
• Linkages Between Soil Biota, Plant Litter Quality and Decomposition, D A Wardle and P Lavelle
• Soil Fauna-mediated Decomposition of Plant Residues Under Constrained Environmental and Residue Quality Conditions, G Tian, L Brussaard, B T Kang and M J Swift
• Relationships Between Litter Fauna and Chemical Changes of Litter During Decomposition Under Different Moisture Conditions, C Wachendorf, U Irmler and H -P Blume
• Metabolic Interactions in Plant Litter Systems, J S Waid
Part 4: Manipulation of Plant Litter Quality
• Residue Quality and Decomposition: An Unsteady Relationship?, B Vanlauwe, J Drels, N Sangina and R Merckx
• Effect of Multipurpose Trees, Age of Cutting and Drying Method on Pruning Quality, P Mafongoya, B H Dzowela and P K Nair
• Regulating N Mineralization from Plant Residues by Manipulation of Quality, E Handayanto, G Cadisch and K E Giller
• Climate Change: The Potential to Affect Ecosystem Functions Through Changes in Amount and Quality of Litter, W J Arp, P J Kuikman and A Gorissen
• Progress and Potential for Genetic Manipulation of Plant Quality, A Bavage, I G Davies, M P Robbins and P Morris
Part 5: Synchrony and Soil Organic Matter
• Synchrony of Nutrient Release and Plant Demand: Plant Litter Quality, Soil Environment and Farmer Management Options, R J K Myers, M van Noordwijk and P Vityakon
• Synchronizing Residue N Mineralization with Rice N Demand in Flooded Conditions, M Becker and J K Ladha
• Management of Leguminous Leaf Residues to Improve Nutrient Use Efficiency in the Sub-humid Tropics, R B Jones, S S Snapp and H S K Phombeya
Part 6: Building Soil Organic Matter
• Characterization of Soil Organic Matter by Solid-state 13C NMR Spectroscopy, J O Skjemstad, P Clarke, A Golchin and J M Oades
• Development and Use of a Carbon Management Index to Monitor Changes in Soil C Pool Size and Turnover Rate, G J Blair, R D B Lefroy, B P Singh and A R Till
• Long-term Vegetation Management in Relation to Accumulation and Mineralization of Nitrogen in Soils, J Z Burket and R P Dick
• Phosphorus Mineralization and Organic Matter Decomposition: A Critical Review, N Gressel and J G McColl
Part 7: Modelling: Providing the Framework
• Modelling Litter Quality Effects on Decomposition and Soil Organic Matter Dynamics, K Paustian, G Εgren and E Bosatta
• Simulating the Mineralization of N from Crop Residues in Relation to Residue Quality, A P Whitmore and E Handayanto
• Modelling the Measurable: Interpretation of Field-scale CO2 and N-Mineralization, Soil Microbial Biomass and Light Fractions as Indicators of Oilseed Rape, Maize and Barley Straw Decomposition, J Magid, T Mueller, L S Jensen and N E Nielson
• Synthesis of Litter Quality and Enzymic Approaches to Decomposition Modelling, R L Sinsabaugh and D L Moorhead
Part 8: Outlook
• A Minimum Dataset for Characterization of Plant Quality for Decomposition, C A Palm and A P Rowland
• Driven by Nature: A Sense of Arrival or Departure?, K E Giller and G Cadisch
