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Biodiversity and Nutrient Relations in Savanna Ecosystems: Interactions Between Primary Producers, Soil Microorganisms, and Soils

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Biodiversity and Savanna Ecosystem Processes

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 121))

Abstract

Availability of resources (light, water, nutrients) determines the amount of biomass that may be produced in a given environment (Chapin 1980; Tilman 1988; McNaughton 1990). This production of biomass can be brought about by assemblages of primary producers composed of widely different species. Similar environments on different continents attain the same level of organic matter production, and are occupied by more or less equivalent ecosystems in regard to structure and function (Walter 1973). Higher production is the result of efficient trapping of available resources. The capacity for trapping available resources would depend on the ability of the species assemblage to occupy the space: intercept incident light and take up soluble nutrients and water. This ability is regulated by intrinsic factors characteristic of each species such as plant habit, size, specific growth rate, phenology, and physiological requirements. Biological interactions extrinsic to the primary producers are also important and include interspecific competition, organic matter decomposition, and the presence of symbiotic and mutualistic microorganisms.

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Authors
  1. Ernesto Medina
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 22 Divinity Avenue, 02138, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    Otto T. Solbrig

  2. Instituto Venezelano de Investigaciones Cientificas, Centro de Ecologia, Aptdo. 21827, 1020-A, Caracas, Venezuela

    Ernesto Medina

  3. CIELAT, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes, Merida, Venezuela

    Juan F. Silva

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© 1996 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Medina, E. (1996). Biodiversity and Nutrient Relations in Savanna Ecosystems: Interactions Between Primary Producers, Soil Microorganisms, and Soils. In: Solbrig, O.T., Medina, E., Silva, J.F. (eds) Biodiversity and Savanna Ecosystem Processes. Ecological Studies, vol 121. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-78969-4_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-78969-4_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-78971-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-78969-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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