Publication
Title
Emerging understanding of the ecosystem silica filter
Author
Abstract
The annual fixation of dissolved Si (DSi) into terrestrial vegetation has been estimated to range from 60 to 200 Tmole, or 1040 times more than the yearly export of DSi and biogenic Si (BSi) from the terrestrial geobiosphere to the coastal zone. Ecosystems form a large filter between primary mobilization of DSi from silicate weathering and its eventual export to the oceans, and a large reservoir of BSi accumulates in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Although a number of synthesis activities within the last decade have discussed biological transformations in the terrestrial Si cycle, the timescales at which BSi is stored and recycled within ecosystems, BSi persistence and reactivity throughout soil profiles, the dependence of the BSi storage and recycling on ecological processes, the feedbacks to hydrology, the interaction with mans activities and ultimately the global relevance in Si budgets are poorly constrained. Here we discuss 5 key controls on the ability of ecosystems to filter and control the export of DSi: ecosystem biodiversity, BSi dissolution rates and reactivity, hydrology, interaction with the geosphere and anthropogenic impacts. These controls need to be further studied to better quantify the global and local importance of the terrestrial biogeochemical Si cycle and specifically the BSi reservoir in ecosystems.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Biogeochemistry. - Dordrecht, 1984, currens
Publication
Dordrecht : Nijhoff/Junk , 2012
ISSN
0168-2563 [print]
1573-515X [online]
DOI
10.1007/S10533-011-9590-2
Volume/pages
107 :1-3 (2012) , p. 9-18
ISI
000298226700002
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 16.12.2011
Last edited 09.10.2023
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