Soil Biology in Tropical Ecosystems

ISBN-13: 9783031009662 / Miękka / 2023 / 139 str.

Tancredo Souza

Spis treści

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

O autorze

Tancredo Souza is a Visiting Professor at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, where his work focuses on biology and mutualistic communities, especially macroarthropod community composition, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, free-living nematodes, and N-fixing bacteria associated with exotic and native plant species. He is the editor or author of several books (e.g., Handbook of Mycorrhizal Fungi, “Biologia do Solo da Caatinga”, “Solos em sistemas agroecológicos”) and journal articles. He teaches courses on soil biology, agroecology, mycology, and biostatistics, and has recently begun investigating the effects of biological invasion on soil biota diversity in tropical seasonal dry forests, tropical forests, and subtropical moist broadleaf forests.

Blurb

This textbook explores the complex nature of soil biological communities and their environments, and covers deserts, rainforests, seasonal tropical forests, dry deciduous forests, and island environments in the tropical zone. It provides essential information on soil biology concepts, ecological processes, plant-soil feedback, trophic structure, and land use effects on soil’s biological properties. The book also offers an updated approach to soil biota and microbiota and their interactions with plants that regulate the structures and functions of tropical ecosystems. Uniquely, it addresses island environments and natural disasters, shedding new light on soil organisms recovering tropical ecosystem functions. Further topics include ecological processes, plant-soil interactions, trophic communities, molecular approaches, and land use, making the book a valuable asset for students, educators and researchers engaged in the Environmental Sciences, Biodiversity and Conservation, Soil Ecology, Soil Biology, Ecology, Zoology, and Soil Biota Classification using classical and molecular tools.