Phosphorus (P) is a finite resource which is essential for life. It is a limiting nutrient in many ecosystems but also a pollutant which can affect biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems and change the ecology of water bodies. This book collects the latest information on biological processes in soil P cycling, which to date have remained much less understood than physico-chemical processes. The methods section presents spectroscopic techniques and the characterization of microbial P forms, as well as the use of tracers, molecular approaches and modeling of soil-plant systems. The section on processes deals with mycorrhizal symbioses, microbial P solubilization, soil macrofauna, phosphatase enzymes and rhizosphere processes. On the system level, P cycling is examined for grasslands, arctic and alpine soils, forest plantations, tropical forests, and dryland regions. Further, P management with respect to animal production and cropping, and the interactions between global change and P cycling, are treated.

Soil organic phosphorus speciation by spectroscopic techniques

Characterization of phosphorus forms in soil microorganisms
The use of tracers to investigate phosphate cycling in soil/plant systems
Molecular approaches to study biological phosphorus cycling
Modelling phosphorus dynamics in the soil-plant system
Role of mycorrhizal symbioses in phosphorus cycling
Solubilization of phosphorus by soil microorganisms
Role of soil macrofauna in phosphorus cycling
Role of phosphatase enzymes in soil
Rhizosphere processes, plant response and adaptations
Biological phosphorus cycling in grasslands - Interactions with N
Biological phosphorus cycling in arctic and alpine soils
Phosphorus nutrition of forest plantations: the role of inorganic and organic phosphorus. - Phosphorus cycling in tropical forests growing on highly weathered soils
Biological P cycling in dryland regions
Manure management effects on phosphorus biotransformations and losses in animal production
Management impacts on biological phosphorus cycling in cropped soils
Phosphorus and global change.