Diego Steinaker

Plant Dynamics in Grasslands and Forests: a Combined Below-aboveground Novel Approach Diego Steinaker

Current thinking in plant ecology has evolved fromseparate studies of above and belowground processes. Those, however, are certainly interdependent, andeffects on one will impact the other. This bookpresents a novel approach that simultaneouslyexamines above-belowground ecosystem functions, byassessing the nitrogen contributions from roots andshoots, the seasonality of primary production, theirclimate controls, and the relationships betweenplants and key soil mesofauna like Collembola. Adjacent grassland and aspen forest differed in thequality but not in the quantity of litter produced,and most of this production comes from belowground. Grassland and forest also differed in the seasonaland spatial patterns of plant production, the effectson and responses to soil water and temperature, andthe plant relationships with Collembola. Thesedifferences between vegetation types may haveecosystem-level consequences in areas undergoingnatural forest expansion, afforestation ordeforestation. This book should be especially usefulto students and professionals of the biologicalsciences, and general people interested in theeffects of land cover changes on ecosystem functions.