Biogeochemistry of a Forested Ecosystem - Hardcover

by Gene E. Likens (Author)

The goal of this Third Edition is to update long-term data presented in earlier editions and to generate new syntheses and conclusions about the biogeochemistry of the Hubbard Brook Valley based on these longer-term data. There have been many changes, revelations, and exciting new insights generated from the longer data records. For example, the impact of acid rain peaked during the period of the HBES and is now declining. The longer-term data also posed challenges in that very marked changes in fluxes occurred in some components, such as hydrogen ion and sulfate deposition, calcium and nitrate export in stream water and biomass accumulation, during the almost 50 years of record. Thus, presenting "mean" or "average" conditions for many components for such a long period, when change was so prominent, do not make sense. In some cases, pentads or decades of time are compared to show these changes in a more smoothed and rational way for this long period. In some cases, a single period, often during periods of rapid change, such as acidification, is used to illustrate the main point(s). And, for some elements a unique mass balance approach, allowing the calculation of the Net Ecosystem Flux (NEF), is shown on an annual basis throughout the study.

Back Jacket

The pioneering watershed-ecosystem studies initiated at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in 1963 underpin this thoroughly updated and in-depth analysis of the biogeochemistry of a forested ecosystem in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. In a novel synthesis of almost 50 years, this third Edition summarizes and interprets these unique data on precipitation and streamwater chemistry, hydrology, and weathering and also considers the role of atmospheric gases and particles as they flow into and out of the ecosystem. Long-term, complete annual budgets are presented for many critical elements in the ecosystem, providing for the first time a comparative view of biogeochemical dynamics in the Hubbard Brook watershed-ecosystems. These results show how an ecosystem is connected to global biogeochemical cycles by its inputs and outputs of water and nutrients.

About the Author:

Gene E. Likens is a co-founder of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study and Founder and President Emeritus of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York. Likens was awarded the National Medal of Science in 2001, largely for his work at Hubbard Brook.

Author Biography

Dr. Likens' research focuses on the ecology and biogeochemistry of forest and aquatic ecosystems, primarily through long-term studies at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He was the co-founder of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study in 1963, which has shed light on critical links between ecosystem function and land-use practices. He and his colleagues were the first scientists to discover acid rain in North America and to document the link between the combustion of fossil fuels and an increase in the acidity of precipitation. His findings have influenced politicians and policy makers, guided and motivated scientific studies, and increased public awareness of human-accelerated environmental change.