Biological management of nutrient supply to plants is intrinsically more complex than the provision of nutrients as inorganic fertilizers. We need to know whether the nutrients released are retained or lost from the system, whether rates of decomposition can be manipulated to improve nutrient use efficiency, and how the various fractions of plant residues translate into pools of organic matter in soil. Only then can predictive models for nutrient release, plant uptake and soil organic matter dynamics be truly tested and validated. This book brings together contemporary ideas on the characterization and manipulation of plant quality and especially its role in soil organic matter formation and nutrient cycling. It contains work from the leading workers in both temperate and tropical systems. There are also contributions describing work outside decomposition in soil ecosystems, such as the work of plant biochemists and animal nutritionists, as research in these areas has provided many ideas and concepts used in plant quality analysis. A wide range of topics is covered from investigations at the molecular level through to management options for farmers in relation to optimising biological management of crop residues. The work presented in this volume is valuable to all those researching and managing the supply of nutrients to plants. It is important reading for soil scientists, plant physiologists and crop scientists.

Table of Contents:
Part 1: Review: Any Progress? 1: Plant Litter Quality and Decomposition: An Historical Overview, O W Heal, J M Anderson and M J Swift Part 2: Pathways and Processes in Litter Decomposition 2: Fungal Degradation of Lignin, K E Hammel 3: Plant Degradation by Ruminants: Parallels with Litter Decomposition in Soil, A Chesson 4: Role of Phenolic Secondary Metabolics in Plants and their Degradation in Nature, J B Harborne 5: Decomposition Induced Changes in the Chemical Structure of Fallen Red Pine, White Spruce and Tamarack Logs, J A Baldock, T Sewell and P G Hatcher 6: Solid-state NMR Investigations of Organic Transformations During the Decomposition of Plant Material in Soil, D W Hopkins and J A Chudek 7: Kinetically Defined Litter Fractions Based on Respiration Measurements, H Marstorp Part 3: Foraging, Feeding and Feedbacks 8: Linkages Between Soil Biota, Plant Litter Quality and Decomposition, D A Wardle and P Lavelle 9: Soil Fauna-mediated Decomposition of Plant Residues Under Constrained Environmental and Residue Quality Conditions, G Tian, L Brussaard, B T Kang and M J Swift 10: Relationships Between Litter Fauna and Chemical Changes of Litter During Decomposition Under Different Moisture Conditions, C Wachendorf, U Irmler and H -P Blume 11: Metabolic Interactions in Plant Litter Systems, J S Waid Part 4: Manipulation of Plant Litter Quality 12: Residue Quality and Decomposition: An Unsteady Relationship?, B Vanlauwe, J Drels, N Sangina and R Merckx 13: Effect of Multipurpose Trees, Age of Cutting and Drying Method on Pruning Quality, P Mafongoya, B H Dzowela and P K Nair 14: Regulating N Mineralization from Plant Residues by Manipulation of Quality, E Handayanto, G Cadisch and K E Giller 15: Climate Change: The Potential to Affect Ecosystem Functions Through Changes in Amount and Quality of Litter, W J Arp, P J Kuikman and A Gorissen 16: Progress and Potential for Genetic Manipulation of Plant Quality, A Bavage, I G Davies, M P Robbins and P Morris Part 5: Synchrony and Soil Organic Matter 17: Synchrony of Nutrient Release and Plant Demand: Plant Litter Quality, Soil Environment and Farmer Management Options, R J K Myers, M van Noordwijk and P Vityakon 18: Synchronizing Residue N Mineralization with Rice N Demand in Flooded Conditions, M Becker and J K Ladha 19: Management of Leguminous Leaf Residues to Improve Nutrient Use Efficiency in the Sub-humid Tropics, R B Jones, S S Snapp and H S K Phombeya Part 6: Building Soil Organic Matter 20: Characterization of Soil Organic Matter by Solid-state 13C NMR Spectroscopy, J O Skjemstad, P Clarke, A Golchin and J M Oades 21: Development and Use of a Carbon Management Index to Monitor Changes in Soil C Pool Size and Turnover Rate, G J Blair, R D B Lefroy, B P Singh and A R Till 22: Long-term Vegetation Management in Relation to Accumulation and Mineralization of Nitrogen in Soils, J Z Burket and R P Dick 23: Phosphorus Mineralization and Organic Matter Decomposition: A Critical Review, N Gressel and J G McColl Part 7: Modelling: Providing the Framework 24: Modelling Litter Quality Effects on Decomposition and Soil Organic Matter Dynamics, K Paustian, G Ågren and E Bosatta 25: Simulating the Mineralization of N from Crop Residues in Relation to Residue Quality, A P Whitmore and E Handayanto 26: Modelling the Measurable: Interpretation of Field-scale CO2 and N-Mineralization, Soil Microbial Biomass and Light Fractions as Indicators of Oilseed Rape, Maize and Barley Straw Decomposition, J Magid, T Mueller, L S Jensen and N E Nielson 27: Synthesis of Litter Quality and Enzymic Approaches to Decomposition Modelling, R L Sinsabaugh and D L Moorhead Part 8: Outlook 28: A Minimum Dataset for Characterization of Plant Quality for Decomposition, C A Palm and A P Rowland 29: Driven by Nature: A Sense of Arrival or Departure?, K E Giller and G Cadisch