Wetlands in Central Europe

Wetlands are very sensitive ecosystems, functioning as a habitat for many organisms. Protection and regeneration of wetlands are of great importance in ecological research and in nature conservation. A huge amount of research has been done on the hydrology, plants and animals in wetlands. Knowledge about soil organisms and soil ecological processes of wetlands is still lacking. This knowledge is a prerequisite for landscape planning purposes or climate change predictions. In the case of climate change, trace gas emissions from wetlands are of great interest. The authors provide an overview of the state-of-the-art on soil ecology in wetlands. The book is divided into the following main chapters: ''Wetlands as habitats for soil organisms'', ''Soil ecological processes in fens and floodplains'', ''Carbon and nitrogen dynamics in soils with different water regimes'' and ''Trace gas emissions''.