Rubidium content of plants, fungi and animals closely reflects potassium and acidity conditions of forest soils
Author
Summary, in English
Rubidium concentrations in tissues of organisms (vascular plants, fungus, insect, bird, rodents) were closely related to soil chemical properties (K+ saturation as % cation exchange capacity, and pH) at repeated sampling of 30 beech forest sites in south Sweden. The Rb+ concentration of organisms, representing a variety of tropic levels, was a sensitive measure of the K+ status of acid soil ecosystems. Low K+ status (pool of exchangeable K+) in the soil, usually aggravated by high soil acidity which causes K+ leaching losses, is compensated by greatly increased uptake of Rb+ by plants and fungi and these elevated Rb+ levels are propagated in the food web. The relationship between Rbi concentration in the tissues of organisms and soil chemical properties was not erased through the food web. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Department/s
Publishing year
2000
Language
English
Pages
89-96
Publication/Series
Forest Ecology and Management
Volume
134
Issue
1-3
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Elsevier
Topic
- Ecology
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1872-7042