Forest Ecosystems

This acclaimed textbook is the most comprehensive available in the field of forest ecology. Designed for advanced students of forest science, ecology, and environmental studies, it is also an essential reference for forest ecologists, foresters, and land managers. The authors provide an inclusive survey of boreal, temperate, and tropical forests with an emphasis on ecological concepts across scales that range from global to landscape to microscopic. Situating forests in the context of larger landscapes, they reveal the complex patterns and processes observed in tree-dominated habitats. The updated and expanded second edition covers * Conservation* Ecosystem services * Climate change* Vegetation classification* Disturbance* Species interactions* Self-thinning* Genetics* Soil influences* Productivity* Biogeochemical cycling* Mineralization* Effects of herbivory* Ecosystem stability

Table of Contents:

Preface
1. Introduction
1.1. Why Study Ecosystems?
1.2. State of the World's Forests
1.3. The Study of Nature: Balance and Flux
1.4. A Brief Overview of the Book
1.5. Summary
2. Basic Terminology and Concepts
2.1. Some Basic Concepts
2.2. The Subdisciplines of Ecology
2.3. The Nature of Systems
2.4. Summary
3. Forests as Part of the Global Ecosystem
3.1. A Brief Look at the Global Ecosystem
3.2. Ecosystem Services Provided by Forests
3.3. Forests and Human Health
3.4. Summary
4. Major Forest Types and Their Climatic Controls
4.1. The Influence of Climate on Forest Type
4.2. Latitudinal Gradients in Forest Characteristics
4.3. How Will Global Climate Change Affect the Distribution of Forests?
4.4. Summary
5. Local Variation in Community Type: The Landscape Mosaic
5.1. A Case History
5.2. Topoedaphic Influences on Vegetation Patterns
5.3. The Emergent Landscape: Integration of Topography, Soils, and Disturbance
5.4. Vegetation Classification
5.5. Summary
6. Change in Time: An Overview
6.1. Earth Music
6.2. Summary
7. Disturbance in Forest Ecosystems
7.1. The Complex Nature of Disturbance
7.2. Fire
7.3. Wind
7.4. Tectonic Activity
7.5. Flooding
7.6. Invasive Species
7.7. Summary
8. Patterns and Mechanisms of Succession
8.1. Historical Notes
8.2. Compositional and Structural Change during Succession
8.3. Mechanisms of Succession
8.4. Ecosystem Changes during Succession
8.5. The Emergent Landscape Revisited
8.6. Summary
9. The Structure of Local Ecosystems
9.1. Forest Structure
9.2. Habitat and Niche
9.3. Food Webs: Pathways of Energy Flow within Ecosystems
9.4. Niche Overlap and Diversification
9.5. The Tradeoff between Dominance and Diversity
9.6. Scales of Diversity
9.7. Summary
10. How Biodiversity Is Created and Maintained
10.1. Forces That Generate and Maintain Diversity within Communities
10.2. The Variation of Species Richness amongEnvironments
10.3. Relationships between Forest Structure and the Diversity of Animals and Microbes
10.4. Forces Producing Diversity in Trees and Other Forest Plants
10.5. Summary
11. The Biological Web: Interactions among Species
11.1. The Structure of Relationships within Communities
11.2. Interactions between Two Species: Basic Concepts
11.3. Mutualisms
11.4. Competition
11.5. Higher-Order Interactions
11.6. Summary
12. Size-Density Relationships in Forests over Time and across Space
12.1. Self-Thinning: An Orderly Process
12.2. Size-Density Relationships in Forests: The Spatial Dimension
12.3. Summary
13. Genetic and Evolutionary Aspects of Species Interactions
13.1. The Role of Biotic Interactions in Evolution
13.2. Community and Ecosystem Genetics
13.3. The Selection of Cooperation within Groups
13.4. Summary
14. Soil: The Fundamental Resource
14.1. What Is Soil?
14.2. The Soil Profile
14.3. Physical Properties of Soils
14.4. Chemical Properties of Soils
14.5. Biological Properties of Soils
14.6. Soil Development
14.7. Soil Classification
14.8. Summary
15. Primary Productivity
15.1. Light Capture and Gas Exchange in Canopies
15.2. Respiration by Trees and Ecosystems
15.3. Net Primary Productivity
15.4. Carbon Allocation in Different Environments
15.5. The Limiting Factors of the Environment
15.6. Trees Are Not Prisoners of the Environment
15.7. Productivity in the Twenty-first Century
15.8. Summary
16. Forest Nutrition
16.1. The Essential Nutrients and Their Physiological Roles
16.2. Nutrient Requirements and Limitations
16.3. Diagnosing Nutrient Deficiencies
16.4. The Concept of Relative Addition Rate
16.5. Summary
17. Biogeochemical Cycling: Nutrient Inputs to and Losses from Local Ecosystems
17.1. An Overview of Nutrient Inputs to Local Ecosystems
17.2. Atmospheric Inputs
17.3. Inputs from Weathering of Primary Minerals
17.4. Biological Nitrogen Fixation
17.5. Nutrient Losses from Undisturbed Forests
17.6. Nutrient Losses from Disturbed Forests
17.7. Summary
18. Biogeochemical Cycling: The Intrasystem Cycle
18.1. Overview of the Intrasystem Nutrient Cycle
18.2. The Contribution of Nutrient Cycling to Primary Productivity
18.3. Detritus
18.4. The Intratree Nutrient Cycle
18.5. Throughfall and Stem Flow
18.6. Decomposition and Nutrient Cycling: Some Basic Concepts
18.7. Broad Patterns of Decomposition: The k Value
18.8. Factors Controlling the Rate of Decomposition
18.9. Effects of Food-Chain Interactions on Decomposition, Immobilization, and Mineralization
18.10. Biodiversity Affects Decomposition
18.11. A Closer Look at Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur Cycles
18.12. Plant Uptake
18.13. Nutrient Cycling through Succession
18.14. Global Change and Nutrient Cycling
18.15. Summary
19. Herbivores in Forest Ecosystems
19.1. Effects of Herbivory on Primary Productivity
19.2. Factors Controlling Herbivores
19.3. Coevolutionary Balance in Forests
19.4. Summary
20. Ecosystem Stability I: Introduction and Case Studies
20.1. Stability of What?
20.2. Resistance, Resilience, Robustness
20.3. Pollution
20.4. Degrading Forests through Mismanagement
20.5. Loss of Bioregulation: Breaking the Links between Plants and Soils
20.6. Loss of Bioregulation: Breaking the Top-Down Links
20.7. Balls, Dancers, and Dances
20.8. Summary
21. Ecosystem Stability II: The Role of Biodiversity
21.1. May's Paradox
21.2. Intensive Forest Management Simplifies Natural Ecosystems
21.3. Does Biodiversity Stabilize Ecosystems? Yes, But . . .
21.4. Understanding Stabilization Requires Understanding Structure-Function Interactions
21.5. Summary
22. Ecosystem Stability III: Conserving Species
22.1. Conserving Species Means Protecting Habitat
22.2. What Kind of Habitat? A Matter of Balance
22.3. Fine Filters, Coarse Filters, and Pluralism
22.4. Viable Populations
22.5. Landscape Patterns: Fragmentation, Variegation, and Permeation
22.6. Summary
23. The Future
23.1. The Implications of Global Warming
23.2. Maintaining Biological Diversity in Managed Forests
23.3. Coda: The New and the Renewed
23.4. Summary
Bibliography
Index