Forest Soils: Soil Respiration as an Indicator of Forest Health
and Forest Health
1606-SoilRespir-PINEMAP-Final.pdf
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Healthy soils are essential to vigorous, productive, and resilient forest systems. Soils make up the uppermost layer of earth’s surface and are comprised of a mixture of rock, minerals, and organic materials. It is the medium for which forest trees grow. However, healthy forest soils are much more than that. Forest soils are complex, living communities comprised of numerous and diverse microflora and fauna interacting among themselves and with mineral and organic constituents. The soil community carries out a range of crucial physiological processes that directly influence tree vigor, health, and resilience.
