Standard Soil Methods for Long-Term Ecological Research

This book provides a standardized set of protocols for measuring soil properties, to facilitatte corss-site synthesis and evaluation of ecosystem processess. The book should be of interest to a rather broad range of ecologists, agronomists, and soil scientists. It is the second volume in the Long-term Ecological Research Network series.

Standardized methods and measurements are crucial for ecological research, particularly in long-term ecological studies where the projects are by nature collaborative and where it can be difficult to distinguish signs of environmental change from the effects of differing methodologies. This second volume in the Long-Term Ecological Research Network Series addresses these issues directly by providing a comprehensive standardized set of protocols for measuring soil properties. The goal of the volume is to facilitate cross-site synthesis and evaluation of ecosystem processes. Chapters cover methods for studying physical and chemical properties of soils, soil biological properties, and soil organisms, and they include work from many leaders in the field. The book is the first broadly based compendium of standardized soil measurement methods and will be an invaluable resource for ecologists, agronomists, and soil scientists.