RESOURCE ECOLOGY

SOIL – PLANT – ANIMAL

INTERACTIONS

NUTRIENT CYCLING IN
TERRESTRIAL
ECOSYSTEMS
 Three main compartments for
nutrient store
Biomass: flora and fauna
Litter

Soil
 Carbon pools in the major reservoirs on earth
CARBON CYCLE
Pool Quantity (gigatons)
The concentration of carbon Atmosphere 720
dioxide (CO2) in Earth's Oceans (total) 38,400
atmosphere determines its Total inorganic 37,400
contribution to: Total organic 1,000
1) rates of photosynthesis Surface layer 670
2) greenhouse effect. Deep layer 36,730
Lithosphere
PHOTOSYNTHESIS Sedimentary carbonates > 60,000,000
• CO2 bond into primary organic Kerogen 15,000,000
matter 46% by oceans, 54% by Terrestrial biosphere
2,000
terrestrial ecosystems (total)
• Return by respiration the same Living biomass 600 - 1,000
• 17.5 % of atmospheric CO2 per Dead biomass 1,200
year is bond into primary Aquatic biosphere 1-2
organic matter Fossil fuels (total) 4,130
Coal 3,510
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_cycle Oil 230
Falkowski, P. et al. (2000). "The Global Carbon Cycle: A Test of Our
Knowledge of Earth as a system". Science 290 (5490): 291–296 Gas 140
CARBON CYCLE Numbers indicate billions of
tons of carbon per year
CARBON CYCLE 4. Carbon and man

• Turnover of CO2 is unbalanced due to:

1. Increase of use of fossil fuels
2. Decrease of consumption by photosynthesis
• The concentration has increased markedly in the 21st century,
at a rate of 2.0 ppm/yr during 2000–2009 and faster since then.
NITROGEN CYCLE 78% 3. Element cycles

Nitrogen cycle
 NITROGEN CYCLE 4. Extraction by man

• Turnover of N2 is unbalanced due to:

• Increase of use of fossil fuels combustion and high-intensity
agriculture (Normal deposition 7 kg/ ha*yr, 20 kg – 45-50 kg, 40-60 kg / ha*yr)
• Excess of N2 leads to nitrogen saturation, then soil fertility declines
due to leaching of cations and thus, carbon uptake diminishes.
N fertilizers
• Changes in the agriculture
• Haber – Bosch process: especially energy intensive
• Approximately 1,200 m3 of natural gas is needed to produce
one metric ton of anhydrous ammonia fertilizer (equivalent to
about 1,700 kg of N).
• Approximately one third of the energy used to grow a crop of
corn in the U.S. Midwest is used to produce, ship, and apply
nitrogen fertilizer
• Huge amounts of nitrogen fertilizer are lost in growing corn on
most farms, as nitrate leaches into ground water, which then
contaminates streams and rivers.
• Dead zones: Mississippi river, Balt
http://monthlyreview.org/2011/01/01/ecological-civilization
PHOSPHORUS CYCLE 3. Element cycles
• mostly biogeochemical cycle
 3. Element cycles
PHOSPHORUS CYCLE
 4. Extraction by man
PHOSPHORUS - phosphates
• A phosphate (PO43−): inorganic chemical (salt of phosphoric acid),
origin volcanic or sedimentary (heavy metal contamination – Cd, Pb,
Cu, Cr).
• Minerals: APATITE – production of fertilizers in agriculture
• Phosphate mines: North America, Africa, Middle East, Oceania
 4. Extraction by man
PHOSPHORUS - phosphates
• PREDICTIONS
• In 2007, at the current rate of consumption, the supply of phosphorus was
estimated to run out in 345 years (Reilly 2004. New Scientist).
• Other estimation: a "peak phosphorus" will occur in 30 years and Dana
Cordell from Institute for Sustainable Futures said in Times that at "current
rates, reserves will be depleted in the next 50 to 100 years."

• Why do we need it? Fertilizers

• EARTH CARRYING CAPACITY WITHOUT ANY ADDITIONAL (EXTERNAL)

ENERGY IS 2 BILLIONS RESIDENTS ON THE PLANET

• http://www.fao.org/3/y5053e/y5053e06.htm
 4. Extraction by man

PHOSPHORUS –
phosphates
Story of NAURU island
• In 1896 – discovery of limestone and
phosphates ore of the richest quality.
• First (German) mining company started to
exploit phosphates since late 19th century
• MINING RATE: In the first year of mining
alone 5,000 kg of phosphate x from 1968
43 million tons a year
• In 1968, Nauru became a sovereign,
independent nation, an economic boost
(revenues from the mining operations are
estimated to have been A$100–120 million
annually since independence through
virtual resource exhaustion in the early
1990s.
PHOSPHORUS – phosphates 4. Extraction by man

Story of NAURU island

• 80% of the nation’s surface
having been mined - phosphate
deposits were virtually depleted
by 2000.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-
asia-pacific-15433901
http://www.thestar.com/news/worl
d/2012/05/27/how_a_tiny_pacific_isl
and_went_from_tropical_paradise_
to_facing_oblivion.html
NUTRIENTS IN SOIL
 • Soil parent material determine concentrations
of main nutrients (exception N)
• Why?
• 1) amount originally present in the parent
material
• 2) ability of soil constituents to retain soluble
forms of the element against loss by leaching
ELEMENTS IN • PARENT MATERIAL: inorganic = wheathered
rock + product of wheathering (clay minerals,
SOIL Fe , Al oxides), partly organic
• Igneous: acidic (low T+press) – granite/quartz,
alkaline (high T+press) amphibole, biotite
mica, rich in Fe, Mg, Ca
• Metamorphic: marble (mramor), serpentine
(hadec ), schists
• Sedimentary: sandstone(pískovec), limestone
(vápenec), shale (břidlice)
 Antagonis
m in uptake
by plant

Deficient for
animals in
continental
areas

Essential for animals,

• Whitehead 2000 antioxidant, additive into
Whitehead 2000
COMPONENTS OF SOIL
• mineral matter (40 - 60 %),
• soil water (20 - 50 %),
• soil air (0 - 40 %) and
• ORGANIC MATERIAL :
• small percentage
• Depends on management of soil
• In temperate areas:
• Arable land
• 1-1.5 % of dry matter (DM) in sandy soil
• 3 – 5 % of DM in clay soil

• Grassland
• 3.2 - 4 % of DM in sandy soil
• 8 – 10 % of DM in clay soil
SOIL PROFILE/ SOIL
HORIZON
Above soil surface: 0 horizon:, undecomposed organic
debris
Surface
• A horizon: mineral soil + most of organic matter and
soil life
• E horizon: eluviated
Subsoil: accumulates Fe, Al, clay, organic compounds -
illuviation
• B horizon
• C horizon
Parent rock: large unborken rocks, accumulate more
soluble compounds
Bedrock: - R horizon
Sources of nutrients in soils

From atmosphere
Recycling through
From parental • For instance dust decomposition of
material from volcanoes
plant material

Recycling through Inputs from Inputs from

excreta of grazing fertilizers and disposal of
animals liming materials sewage sludges
Nutrients in soils from parental material
1. Old, climatically buffered, infertile landscapes (OCBILS):
nutrient-impoverished soils limited by P
2. Young, frequently disturbed, fertile landscapes (YODFELs):
young postglacial landscapes limited by N

Chedwick et al. 1999, Nature

Nutrients in soils from parental material
Chedwick et al. 1999, Nature
 Nutrients in soils from parental material
• Not only age, but also other components (pH, other elements – Fe, Al)

apatites
DECOMPOSITION OF PLANT MATERIAL
Dead plant material – leaves, stems, roots
Most of biomass return to soil, despite removal by cutting, grazing, fire

MINERALIZATION
• organic molecules converted to inorganic forms by extracellular enzymes
released by soil microorganisms
• Two consequent processes: comminution (rozmělňování) + oxidation

• N – ammonium, P – phosphate, S – sulphate ions

• Part of nutrients immobilized in microorganisms
• Mineralization x immobilization balance ≈ size of microbial biomass
• Carbon : partly net mineralization to CO2; N: net immobilization
• Causation: different stoichiometry
• C:N ratio – plant residues > 20:1 microbial biomass 10:1
• C:P ratio – plant residues > 250:1 microbial biomass 30:1
DECOMPOSITION OF PLANT MATERIAL
depends on … MICROBIAL ACTIVITY
• Higher activity and more rapid nutrient
turnover in warm moist conditions, pH = 5-7
Bastida et al. 2008 Application of fresh and composted organic
wastes modifies structure, size and activity of soil microbial
community under semiarid climate. Applied soil Ecology 40, 318-
329
 DECOMPOSITION OF PLANT MATERIAL
depends on…

• Soil biota: earthworms, insects

• Transfer material in deeper layers and make it accesible to
microorganims
• Consumption + excretion – easier decomposition

• Earthworm population ↑
with clover or N fertiliter
– weight per ha = weight
of grazing livestock
– Missing in savanna with
less than 1000 mm rainfall

• Arthropodes: role in
fragmentation and
redistribution
 DECOMPOSITION OF PLANT MATERIAL
depends on… TERMITES
• Wood-feeding (temperate, warm climates)
• Fungus-growers (Macrotermitidae, Ethiopia,
Orient)
• Soil-feeders (Africa, Autralia, Orient)
• OM consumption : 12 (Sahel) – 27 (E Afr) g m-2
y-1, less than 1.5% of litter
• (above and below ground primary production
of savanna approx. 950 g m-2 y-1)
• Vegetation and soil changes
• Methane production by symbionts - negligible
Excreta of grazing animals
≈ on livestock stocking density, on nutrients in consumed herbage
DUNG: Nutrients in insoluble form
URINE: Water-soluble, potentially available for immediate uptake by plants
Excreta of grazing animals
≈ on livestock stocking density, on nutrients in consumed herbage
DUNG: Nutrients in insoluble form
URINE: Water-soluble, potentially available for immediate uptake by plants
EXCRETA
FROM
HOUSED
ANIMALS
 Inputs from fertilizers and liming materials

Sub-Saharan Africa
 Inputs from fertilizers and liming materials
Any fertilizer application leaves traces in soil/ plants
RESIDUAL EFFECT Ca, N, P

Hejcman et al. 2007 AEE

Trace of human activities
 Availibility of nutrient elements to plants in
relation to chemical form and soil processes

• Nutrients immediately available – soil solution

• Depends on
• cation exchange capacity of the soil
• Soil pH (continuing trend for soils to become more acid, due to the effects of rain
containing dissolved CO2 and other acidic compounds + due to acidity araising from
nitrification), plants sustain pH 4-8.5
• Soil redox conditions (redox potential – oxidizing/ reducing capacity – depends on O2
supply in relation to the amount of readily decomposable OM
• on ORGANIC MATTER
• Almost all N, P, S in grassland soils
• Small effect on availibility of macronutrient cations K, Na, Ca, Mg
• Greater effect on availibility of micronutrient cations Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Co
• Microbial biomass: in temperate grassland 500-9000 kg/ha (typical 2-3t/ha)
Soil types
• Gelisols
are soils that are permanently frozen (contain
“permafrost”)
or contain evidence of permafrost near the soil surface
• Arctic and Antarctic, as well as at extremely high
elevations.
• Permafrost influences land use through its effect on the
downward movement of water and freeze-thaw
activity (cryoturbation) such as frost heaves
• Permafrost can also restrict the rooting depth of plants
• 9% of the world’s glacier-free land surface.

https://www.soils.org/about-soils/basics/types
Soil types
• Histosols
mainly composed of organic material in their upper portion.
• contains soils commonly called bogs, moors, peatlands, muskegs,
fens, or peats and mucks. These soils form when organic matter,
such as leaves, mosses, or grasses, decomposes more slowly than it
accumulates due to a decrease in microbial decay rates. This most
often occurs in extremely wet areas or underwater; thus, most of
these soils are saturated year-round
• can be highly productive farmland when drained; however, draining
these soils can cause them to decompose rapidly and subside
dramatically. They are also not stable for foundations or roadways
and may be highly acidic
• about 1% of the world’s glacier-free land surface
Soil types
• Spodosols
among the most attractive soils. They often have a dark surface
underlain by an ashy, gray layer, which is subsequently underlain
by a reddish, rusty, coffee-colored, or black subsoil horizon
• These soils form as rainfall interacts with acidic vegetative
litter, such as the needles of conifers, to form organic acids.
These acids dissolve iron, aluminum, and organic matter in the
topsoil and ashy gray horizons. The dissolved materials then
move to the colorful subsoil horizons
• most often develop in coarsely textured soils (sands and loamy
sands) under coniferous vegetation in humid regions of the
world. They tend to be acidic and have low fertility and low clay
content.
• about 4% of the world’s glacier-free land surface.
Soil types
• Andisols
typically form from the weathering of volcanic materials such as ash,
resulting in minerals in the soil with poor crystal structure. These
minerals have an unusually high capacity to hold both nutrients and
water, making these soils very productive and fertile.
• include weakly weathered soils with much volcanic glass, as well as
more strongly weathered soils.
• They typically occur in areas with moderate to high rainfall and cool
temperatures. They also tend to be highly erodible when on slopes.
• about 1% of the glacier-free land surface.
 Soil types
• Oxisols
soils of tropical and subtropical regions, which are dominated by iron
oxides, quartz, and highly weathered clay minerals such as kaolinite.
• These soils are typically found on gently sloping land surfaces of
great age that have been stable for a long time. For the most part,
they are nearly featureless soils without clearly marked layers, or
horizons. Because they are highly weathered, they have low natural
fertility, but can be made productive through wise use of fertilizers
and lime.
• about 8% of the glacier-free land surface.
Soil types
• Vertisols
clay-rich soils that contain a type of “expansive” clay that
shrinks and swells dramatically. These soils therefore
shrink as they dry and swell when they become wet.
When dry, vertisols form large cracks that may be more
than one meter (three feet) deep and several
centimeters, or inches, wide.
• The movement of these soils can crack building
foundations and buckle roads.
• highly fertile due to their high clay content; however,
water tends to pool on their surfaces when they
become wet.
• located in areas where the underlying parent materials
allow for the formation of expansive clay minerals.
• They occupy about 2% of the glacier-free land surface..
Soil types
• Aridisols
soils that occur in climates that are too dry for “mesophytic” plants—plants
adapted to neither a too wet nor too dry environments—to survive. The climate
in which Aridisols occur also restricts soil weathering processes.
• contain accumulations of salt, gypsum, or carbonates, and are found in hot and
cold deserts worldwide.
• about 12% of the Earth’s glacier-free land area, including some of the dry
valleys of Antarctica.

• Ultisols
soils that have formed in humid areas and are intensely weathered. They
typically contain a subsoil horizon that has an appreciable amount of
translocated clay,and are relatively acidic. Most nutrients are held in the upper
centimeters of Ultisol soils, and these soils are generally of low fertility although
they can become productive with additions of fertilizer and lime.
• Ultisols make up about 8% of the glacier-free land surface.
Soil types
• Mollisols
are prairie or grassland soils that have a dark-colored surface horizon.
They are highly fertile and rich in chemical “bases” such as calcium and
magnesium. The dark surface horizon comes from the yearly addition of
organic matter to the soil from the deep roots of prairie plants.
• in climates with pronounced dry seasons, approximately 7% of the
glacier-free land surface.

• Alfisols
less intensively weathered and less acidic. They tend to be more
inherently fertile than Ultisols and are located in similar climatic regions,
typically under forest vegetation.
• about 10% of the glacier-free land surface.
Soil types
• Inceptisols
exhibit a moderate degree of soil development and lack
significant clay accumulation in the subsoil. They occur over a
wide range of parent materials and climatic conditions, and thus
have a wide range of characteristics.
• approximately 17% of the earth’s glacier-free surface.

• Entisols
• little to no soil development other than the presence of an
identifiable topsoil horizon. These soils occur in areas of
recently deposited sediments, often in places where deposition
is faster than the rate of soil development.
• active flood plains, dunes, landslide areas, and behind
retreating glaciers. They are common in all environments.
• occupying about 16% of the Earth’s surface.
http://soils.usda.gov/use/worldsoils/mapindex/order.html
THAT‘S
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FOR
TODAY!
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