“What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.”
W. Heisenberg
Abstract
On the basis of extensive literature and personal studies, the processes of biotic turnover of nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems are analyzed. It is shown that there are just a few exchange processes acting at the macrolevel, and all of them take place in any terrestrial ecosystem. The major factors controlling the intensity of nutrient exchange processes are the chemical properties of nutrient elements and their physiological significance, life forms of dominant species, aboveground and underground primary production, temperature, and precipitation. It is argued that the system of exchange processes has a universal nature, whereas the structures of the particular components of nutrient turnover are diverse. A combination of universal functions and diverse forms creates the rich diversity of terrestrial ecosystems.
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Original Russian Text © A.A. Titlyanova, 2014, published in Pochvovedenie, 2014, No. 7, pp. 771–780.
This is a lecture read by the author at the Dokuchaev Readings in March 2011.
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Titlyanova, A.A. Universal nature of the processes of biotic turnover. Eurasian Soil Sc. 47, 631–640 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229314050226
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229314050226