Forest Soils—What’s Their Peculiarity?
Mankind expects from forests and forest soils benefits like pure drinking water, space for recreation, habitats for nature-near biocenoses and the production of timber as unrivaled climate-friendly raw material. An overview over 208 recent articles revealed that ecosystem services are actually the m...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Soil Systems |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8789/6/1/5 |
| _version_ | 1797442136670470144 |
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| author | Klaus von Wilpert |
| author_facet | Klaus von Wilpert |
| author_sort | Klaus von Wilpert |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mankind expects from forests and forest soils benefits like pure drinking water, space for recreation, habitats for nature-near biocenoses and the production of timber as unrivaled climate-friendly raw material. An overview over 208 recent articles revealed that ecosystem services are actually the main focus in the perception of forest soil functions. Studies on structures and processes that are the basis of forest soil functions and ecosystem services are widely lacking. Therefore, additional literature was included dealing with the distinct soil structure and high porosity and pore continuity of forest soils, as well as with their high biological activity and chemical soil reaction. Thus, the highly differentiated, hierarchical soil structure in combination with the ion exchange capacity and the acid buffering capacity could be described as the main characteristics of forest soils confounding the desired ecosystem services. However, some of these functions of forest soils are endangered under the influence of environmental change or even because of forest management, like mono-cultures or soil compaction through forest machines. In the face of the high vulnerability of forest soils and increased threads, e.g., through soil acidification, it is evident that active soil management strategies must be implemented with the aim to counteract the loss of soil functions or to recover them. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:37:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f63c3e6bb69a4efe9ef53a7f69e7305d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-8789 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:37:27Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Soil Systems |
| spelling | doaj.art-f63c3e6bb69a4efe9ef53a7f69e7305d2023-11-30T22:23:09ZengMDPI AGSoil Systems2571-87892022-01-0161510.3390/soilsystems6010005Forest Soils—What’s Their Peculiarity?Klaus von Wilpert0Department Soil and Environment, Forest Research Institute, D-79100 Freiburg, GermanyMankind expects from forests and forest soils benefits like pure drinking water, space for recreation, habitats for nature-near biocenoses and the production of timber as unrivaled climate-friendly raw material. An overview over 208 recent articles revealed that ecosystem services are actually the main focus in the perception of forest soil functions. Studies on structures and processes that are the basis of forest soil functions and ecosystem services are widely lacking. Therefore, additional literature was included dealing with the distinct soil structure and high porosity and pore continuity of forest soils, as well as with their high biological activity and chemical soil reaction. Thus, the highly differentiated, hierarchical soil structure in combination with the ion exchange capacity and the acid buffering capacity could be described as the main characteristics of forest soils confounding the desired ecosystem services. However, some of these functions of forest soils are endangered under the influence of environmental change or even because of forest management, like mono-cultures or soil compaction through forest machines. In the face of the high vulnerability of forest soils and increased threads, e.g., through soil acidification, it is evident that active soil management strategies must be implemented with the aim to counteract the loss of soil functions or to recover them.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8789/6/1/5forest soil characteristicssecondary soil structuresoil functionsecosystem servicesspatiotemporal integration levelforest soil management |
| spellingShingle | Klaus von Wilpert Forest Soils—What’s Their Peculiarity? Soil Systems forest soil characteristics secondary soil structure soil functions ecosystem services spatiotemporal integration level forest soil management |
| title | Forest Soils—What’s Their Peculiarity? |
| title_full | Forest Soils—What’s Their Peculiarity? |
| title_fullStr | Forest Soils—What’s Their Peculiarity? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Forest Soils—What’s Their Peculiarity? |
| title_short | Forest Soils—What’s Their Peculiarity? |
| title_sort | forest soils what s their peculiarity |
| topic | forest soil characteristics secondary soil structure soil functions ecosystem services spatiotemporal integration level forest soil management |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8789/6/1/5 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT klausvonwilpert forestsoilswhatstheirpeculiarity |