Over the last few years, considerable attention has been devoted in the scientific literature
and in the media to the concept of “ecosystem” services of soils. The monetary valuation of …

A variety of soil factors are known to increase nutrient availability and plant productivity. The
most influential might be the organisms comprising the soil microbial community of the …

Boreal forest soils are important global carbon sinks, with significant storage in the organic
topsoil. Decomposition of these stocks requires oxidative enzymes, uniquely produced by …

Although it is generally accepted that plant community composition is key for predicting rates
of ecosystem processes in the face of global change, microbial community composition is …

Soil is a complex and dynamic biological system, and still in 2003 it is difficult to determine
the composition of microbial communities in soil. We are also limited in the determination of …

A critical assumption underlying terrestrial ecosystem models is that soil microbial
communities, when placed in a common environment, will function in an identical manner …

Soil is a component of primary importance in crop production, even if it is often neglected, or
only regarded as a physical support for the growth of plants. However, with the increasing …

Climate and litter quality are primary drivers of terrestrial decomposition and, based on
evidence from multisite experiments at regional and global scales, are universally factored …

Soil microbial communities are so vastly diverse that complex interactions, which alter
ecosystem functions, may occur among microbial species and functional groups. In this …

Although potential enzyme activity measurements have a long history of use as an indicator
of microbial activity, current methods do not provide accurate estimates of in situ activity. In …