Chapter 1
Purpose and Scope
Abstract Soil plays a major role in ecosystem services (an ecological term referring
to the benefits granted to humans by ecosystems). Among the various ecosystem
services, provisioning services are important providers of foods, fibers, wood, and
other naturally sourced materials. To increase biological production while
maintaining sustainable soil and ecosystems, we must understand element cycling
in soils and ecosystems and its high dependence on inorganic constituents. This
monograph describes the fundamentals, along with visual aids, of inorganic soil
constituents for beginning students of soil science, environmental science, biogeochemistry, and interested readers in other disciplines. The visual aids include optical
photographs, electron microscope images, and element maps acquired by energy
dispersive X-ray analyses.
1.1 Ecosystem Services as an Embodiment of Soil Functions
An ecosystem is characterized by a wide variety of organisms, and soil is essential
for the survival and activities of terrestrial organisms. Ecosystems are strongly
dependent on, and also affect, the properties of their soils. Under these conditions,
ecosystems provide various services to humans (known as ecosystem services). The
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) report describes four main classes of
ecosystem services:
1. Provisioning services such as food, water, timber, and fiber.
2. Regulating services that affect climate, floods, disease, wastes, and water quality
3. Cultural services that provide recreational, aesthetic, and spiritual benefits
4. Supporting services such as soil formation, photosynthesis, and nutrient cycling
Among the supporting services is “soil formation,” which includes the functions
of biota and organic and inorganic constituents in the soil. Digestion of biogenic
residues and reuse of nutrient elements constitute “photosynthesis and nutrient
cycling.” Soil supports the digestion of biogenic residues and the reuse of nutrient
elements, and it plays a nutrient-retention role, at least temporarily. Humans utilize
the supporting services to obtain provisioning-service products, such as foods,
© The Author(s) 2018
M. Nanzyo, H. Kanno, Inorganic Constituents in Soil,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1214-4_1
1
Purpose and Scope
Abstract Soil plays a major role in ecosystem services (an ecological term referring
to the benefits granted to humans by ecosystems). Among the various ecosystem
services, provisioning services are important providers of foods, fibers, wood, and
other naturally sourced materials. To increase biological production while
maintaining sustainable soil and ecosystems, we must understand element cycling
in soils and ecosystems and its high dependence on inorganic constituents. This
monograph describes the fundamentals, along with visual aids, of inorganic soil
constituents for beginning students of soil science, environmental science, biogeochemistry, and interested readers in other disciplines. The visual aids include optical
photographs, electron microscope images, and element maps acquired by energy
dispersive X-ray analyses.
1.1 Ecosystem Services as an Embodiment of Soil Functions
An ecosystem is characterized by a wide variety of organisms, and soil is essential
for the survival and activities of terrestrial organisms. Ecosystems are strongly
dependent on, and also affect, the properties of their soils. Under these conditions,
ecosystems provide various services to humans (known as ecosystem services). The
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) report describes four main classes of
ecosystem services:
1. Provisioning services such as food, water, timber, and fiber.
2. Regulating services that affect climate, floods, disease, wastes, and water quality
3. Cultural services that provide recreational, aesthetic, and spiritual benefits
4. Supporting services such as soil formation, photosynthesis, and nutrient cycling
Among the supporting services is “soil formation,” which includes the functions
of biota and organic and inorganic constituents in the soil. Digestion of biogenic
residues and reuse of nutrient elements constitute “photosynthesis and nutrient
cycling.” Soil supports the digestion of biogenic residues and the reuse of nutrient
elements, and it plays a nutrient-retention role, at least temporarily. Humans utilize
the supporting services to obtain provisioning-service products, such as foods,
© The Author(s) 2018
M. Nanzyo, H. Kanno, Inorganic Constituents in Soil,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1214-4_1
1