Forty plots were selected in an old-growth beech forest (Biological Reserve of La Tillaie, 1 Fontainebleau State Forest, France), to embrace the whole range of site conditions and phases of 2 vegetation dynamics. Soils are sandy, thus the nutrient status of the topsoil is very poor except when 3 trees have access to an underlying limestone layer. The study was focused on the role of calcium in 4 the sustainability of the beech ecosystem. Calcium is mostly redistributed through leaf litter accretion 5 and the activity of litter-consuming organisms, but other sources are fallen wood and uprooted 6 mounds. In each of the 40 plots earthworm species were sampled, and measurements were taken in 7 order to describe humus profiles, growth of adult trees, litter quantity and quality, and access to lime. 8Densities of soil-dwelling earthworms, calcium content of beech leaf litter, height of tallest trees and 9 depth of the limestone layer were correlated, indicating a gradient of soil fertility which mainly results 10 from long-term interactions between soil organisms and trees in varying geological conditions. 11Possible causal relationships and implications of calcium turnover for nature conservation were 12 discussed in the light of existing knowledge. 13 14

This paper is based on an extensive review of soil fertility in the literature of soil science, agronomy and ethnic studies. The spectrum of scientific opinions on soil fertility was visualized in mind‐maps, definition types were analyzed, and problems within the conceptual approach towards soil fertility were shown. Differently oriented concepts were divided between the terms of soil fertility and soil quality. Soil fertility is not applicable as a technical term in natural sciences as it describes a definite, but dispositional (concealed), soil feature; therefore, it is not fully operationalizable for the natural sciences. Soil quality denotes undefined and interchangeable sets of appreciated soil attributes and functionalities, which are assigned by value judgements. It is a tool that integrates different soil state variables and functions in order to evaluate the capacity of a soil to do what it is expected (i.e. function) or to assess the sustainability of current land‐use practices. The phenomenon of soil fertility appears to the consciousness as an autonomous counter‐instance with its own mental and material qualities, referred to in traditional cultic cultivation. The main features of cultic cultivation of soil fertility are the uniting of the four elements, the religio towards the spiritual side of nature, the sacrificial, and the eros. A reevaluation of the soil fertility phenomenon in modern terms would be an innovative and forward‐looking research program. Practical and scientific work on soil fertility should rediscover and revive the feeling for, and apperception of, the phenomenon of soil fertility in its mental and material aspects.

Households consume more energy embodied in goods and services than they consume with energy carriers. Thus, energy assessments need to address both direct consumption and indirect consumption via commodities. This paper first presents a conceptual framework for describing and analysing the direct and indirect energy use of households. The framework is based on material flux analysis and differentiates between four household activities: feeding, housi ng, transporting and consuming. Secondly, Swiss data on household energy consumption are presented and discussed in the context of household size, technology and consumption behaviour. It is shown that these factors considerably shape per capita energy demand. The third part presents energy projections based on trend assumptions for demographic and technological developments for the next 30 years. When zero growth per capita in commodities consumption is assumed, overall energy demand will increase by about 5%, mainly due to strong increases in gasoline demand. When the growth rate of commodities consumption exceeds 0.3% per year, embodied energy demand will offset efficiency gains achieved by technological improvements in the economic and domestic sectors and will fuel overall energy growth.

A non-random sampling design allowed to distinguish within a virgin beech ecosystem two main components of humus profile heterogeneity. The stratification of the profile into horizons reflects changes in the composition of the soil/litter matrix occurring under the influence of the anisotropic deposition of leaf and wood litter and the stratified occurrence of soil organisms (roots, microbes, animals). The horizontal heterogeneity is mainly influenced by changes in vegetation, in particular the decreasing influence of beech (and the increasing influence of ground vegetation) when passing from the tree trunk base, where the influence of the tree reaches a maximum, to the centre of adjacent gaps where the influence of beech is replaced by that of another vegetation. The use of multivariate methods, used for description rather than for modelling, is suggested to be the best procedure for understanding patterns underlying heterogeneity without a priori assumptions.

The goal of this paper is to put the issue of preserving Soil Organic Matter (SOM) into a regional, urban-rural, context. In doing so, we apply the method of material flux analysis to a watershed in Boyacá in Colombia. We estimate the order of magnitude of the dry organic matter and carbon fluxes between the rural and urban parts of the region, including estimates on biomass growth, tillage, organic waste, and sewage. These estimates are used to derive potentials for carbon cycling between rural and urban areas. It is shown that (i) for the municipality of Tunja, the treated organic wastes produced in the urban area could add about 30% to the current carbon input into arable soils; (ii) to preserve the organic carbon content in soils in Tunja over the long-term, either, erosion control measures have to be implemented and/or the total treated urban organic wastes have to be concentrated on about 1/5 of the agricultural area. However, such an attempt has to consider the possible trade off between allocation needs (poor farmers on the hillside) and allocation costs (transportation and distribution costs).