Forest Nutrient Cycling: Influence of Trace Metal Pollutants

  • William H. Smith
Chapter
Part of the Springer Series on Environmental Management book series (SSEM)

Abstract

Nutrients must move into, within, and out of forest ecosystems in appropriate amounts, at appropriate rates and along established pathways for normal forest growth to occur. The two major sources of nutrients for temperate forest ecosystems are (1) meteorologic input of dissolved, particulate, and gaseous chemicals from outside the ecosystem ; and (2) release by weathering of nutrients from primary and secondary minerals stored within the ecosystem (Bormann and Likens, 1979). Healthy forest ecosystems conserve these nutrients and continually recycle them through the system via an elaborate litterfall-decomposition-uptake intrasystem cycle.

Keywords

Trace Metal Forest Soil Soil Respiration Forest Floor Litter Decomposition 
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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag New York Inc. 1981

Authors and Affiliations

  • William H. Smith
    • 1
  1. 1.Greeley Memorial LaboratorySchool of Forestry and Environmental Studies Yale UniversityNew HavenUSA

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