Preface

The idea of this book, which we are able to oVer you now, thanks to Elsevier,

was born several years ago when we were working together on review articles

summarizing knowledge on litter decomposition, nutrient dynamics, and

humus buildup in forests of the Northern Hemisphere. After years of study-

ing organic matter decomposition, we considered ourselves to have good

insight into the progress in this branch of ecology/biogeochemistry, and it

was not diYcult to notice that, although intensively studied by a number of

research teams all over the world, the subject was not very well represented

on the bookshelves. Virtually no single comprehensive book devoted to this

subject had been published for a long time, and, in fact, very few have ever

been published (see the References at the end of this volume). To both of

us—teaching ecology as well as more specialized courses in soil ecology and

ecotoxicology—this situation was not merely unsatisfactory, considering the

importance of decomposition processes for almost every aspect of life on

earth, but also very inconvenient for our students who did not have any

source summarizing the state of current research in the discipline.

When you lack a proper handbook, you must write one yourself and we

decided to do just that. Although many years have passed from the birth of

the idea until we could submit the manuscript, not much has changed in the

general market. One notable exception is the book coauthored by one of us

and published by Springer‐Verlag in 2003. However, while that book is

directed toward specialists, the present one has been written mostly with

students and teachers in mind. We hope that this book will be useful at all

levels of study, from general ecology courses, where decomposition process-

es often are covered briefly, through more advanced courses in ecosystems

ecology, soil ecology, and biogeochemistry, where at least some deeper

aspects of organic matter decay should be covered, ending with courses for

graduate students who decide to take the first step in their research careers in

this topic. While teachers and students in more general subjects will find the

most basic information on decomposition processes in this book, we hope

that scientists and graduate students working on decomposition processes

will be satisfied with the more detailed information and the overview of the

latest publications on the topic as well as the methodological chapter where

vi PREFACE

practical information on methods useful in decomposition studies can be

found. We hope that university teachers like us will find the book useful in

preparing their courses. In particular, those who do not specialize in decom-

position studies should find a wealth of knowledge gathered in one, relatively

compact volume. A useful addition for classes and self‐teaching is Appendix

II, with real research data and an Internet link that can be used for learning

diVerent statistical techniques mentioned in the book or even for organizing

minor research projects without the necessity of spending long years on field

studies, which, in most cases, is simply impossible during regular courses.

Of course, we do not believe that our book will satisfy the needs of

everyone. Throughout the book, we have had to find a balance between

completeness of the knowledge presented and compactness of particular

chapters. We realize that our personal opinion on what is the best tradeoVwas not necessarily optimal in all cases. Therefore, we will be happy to hear

your opinions and suggestions. If the book appears useful, there is the

possibility of publishing an updated version in a few years. Our e‐mail

addresses are given below this Preface: you may be certain that every

message will be carefully read and thought through.

E-mail address:

Bjo rn Ber g: BBE@k vl.dk, 07082124 24@ euromai l.se

Rysz ard Laskows ki: r.lasko wski@ek o.uj.edu.pl