Nutrient Cycling in Forest Ecosystems

Dear Colleagues,

The long term productivity of forest ecosystems depends on the cycling of nutrients. In fact, the carbon dioxide fertilization effect on forest productivity may ultimately be limited by the rate of nutrient cycling. Contemporary and future disturbances such as climatic warming, deforestation, short rotation sylviculture, fire (wild and controlled), and the invasion of exotic species all place strains on the integrity of this system of nutrient cycling. Global differences in climate, soils, and species make the extrapolation of even a single important study difficult to extrapolate to forests worldwide. Despite advances in the understanding of nutrient cycling and carbon production in forests, many questions remain. These questions are reflected in the topics listed below. We invite submissions for a Special Issue of Forests on the subject of “Nutrient Cycling in Forest Ecosystems”. Topics for submissions may include, but are not limited to:

• forest nutrient stocks and climate change;
• ability of increased N and P mineralization caused by soil warming to sustain increased productivity caused by CO₂ fertilization;
• uptake, removal from soil, and cycling of nutrients during forest growth (either natural ecosystem development or growth of managed forests);
• nutrient cycling and species diversity: does increased tree diversity improve nutrient use in plantations?
• species effects on nutrient cycling; dominant species traits that affect nutrient cycling;
• effects of invasive species or forest management practices on nutrient cycling;
• genomics of microorganisms involved in nutrient cycling;
• role of mycorrhizae in nutrient cycles;
• fate of nutrients used in fertilization;
• root productivity and nutrient turnover;
• fundamental mechanisms that control P cycling in tropical forests;
• causes of recalcitrance in soil organic matter mineralization.

Prof. Dr. Robert G. Qualls
Guest Editor

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