This book brings together two aspects of grassland soil management which, by and large, have hitherto been considered separately. Issues related to nutrient cycling and soil quality have dominated research directed towards aiding broad and local scale policy issues for improving land use. Protecting the environment and maintaining/preserving natural habitats and biodiversity, tend to be considered separately. In this book we attempt to bring what are, in reality, inseparable aspects of grassland soil characteristics together and consider physical, chemical and biological components of soils, their interrelations and the way that they influence nutrient transformations and flows and soil quality. Keynote discussions will be lead by the following experts: Physical constraints and drivers: Professor Iain Young, Abertay University, Scotland Biological aspects: Professor Tim Seastedt, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA Chemical aspects: Dr Mike Beare from Crop and Food, Research, Lincoln New Zealand Over-arching synopsis of these issues: Professor Richard Bardgett, Lancaster University, UK. Bringing together international expertise and experience does much to progress understanding and points ways forward to maintain what is a base resource, our soils, whether it be for production targets, environmental benefit or for maintenance of natural ecosystems for future generations. This volume is useful to all those interested in soils and their function, and all grassland managers, whether their aims are directed at producing food, forage or fibre of sustainable quantity and quality or at maintaining, restoring or encouraging above and below ground biodiversity. The international perspective on this is very important so that experiences in wide ranging circumstances can be cross-referenced and used to the advantage of all.

This book presents a comprehensive overview of nutrient cycling processes and their importance for plant growth and ecosystem sustainability. The book combines fundamental scientific studies and devised practical approaches. It contains contributions of leading international authorities from various disciplines resulting in multidisciplinary approaches, and all chapters have been carefully reviewed. This volume will support scientists and practitioners alike.

The long-term productivity of forest ecosystems depends on the cycling of nutrients. The effect of carbon dioxide fertilization on forest productivity may ultimately be limited by the rate of nutrient cycling. Contemporary and future disturbances such as climatic warming, N-deposition, deforestation, short rotation sylviculture, fire (both wild and controlled), and the invasion of exotic species all place strains on the integrity of ecosystem nutrient cycling. Global differences in climate, soils, and species make it difficult to extrapolate even a single important study worldwide. Despite advances in the understanding of nutrient cycling and carbon production in forests, many questions remain. The chapters in this volume reflect many contemporary research priorities. The thirteen studies in this volume are arranged in the following subject groups: • N and P resorption from foliage worldwide, along chronosequences and along elevation gradients; • Litter production and decomposition; • N and P stoichiometry as affected by N deposition, geographic gradients, species changes, and ecosystem restoration; • Effects of N and P addition on understory biomass, litter, and soil; • Effects of burning on soil nutrients; • Effects of N addition on soil fauna.

Cycling of Mineral Nutrients in Agricultural Ecosystems contains the papers presented in the first international environmental symposium of the Royal Netherlands Land Development Society held at Amsterdam on 1976. The symposium is cosponsored by the International Association for Ecology and Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company. This compilation reflects the exchange of information and ideas by specialists and participants of the symposium. The book is comprised of nine chapters, which cover the following concepts of nutrient cycling in agricultural ecosystems: principles and control of nutrient cycling; description and classification of agro-ecosystems; nutrient cycling data from different countries; and general discussion on nutrient balances, changes in soil pools, manipulations, and future researches. This book also offers potential background and perspectives for further studies on nutrient cycling in agro-ecosystems, presenting a view on what directions future research should take. This volume will be an invaluable reference source for environmental science students and professionals. Research workers in agriculture and other environmental disciplines will also find this book useful.

"This book is the published outcome of the IGC satellite workshop ... held at Saint Catherine's College, Oxford, July 2005".--P. 7.

This volume investigates how large herbivores not only influence the structure and distribution of the vegetation, but also affect nutrient flows and the responses of associated fauna. The mechanisms and processes underlying the herbivores' behavior, distribution, movement and direct impact on the vegetation are discussed in detail. It is shown that an understanding of plant/animal interactions can inform the management of large herbivores to integrate production and conservation in terrestrial systems.

Forages: The Science of Grassland Agriculture, 7th Edition, Volume II will extensively evaluate the current knowledge and information on forage agriculture. Chapters written by leading researchers and authorities in grassland agriculture are aggregated under section themes, each one representing a major topic within grassland science and agriculture. This 7th edition will include two new additional chapters covering all aspects of forage physiology in three separate chapters, instead of one in previous editions. Chapters will be updated throughout to include new information that has developed since the last edition. This new edition of the classic reference serves as a comprehensive supplement to An Introduction to Grassland Agriculture, Volume I.