THE BIOGEOCHEMISTRY OF THE AMAZON BASIN

With a complex assemblage of largely intact ecosystems thatsupport the earth’s greatest diversity of life, the Amazonbasin is a focal point of international scientific interest.And, as development and colonization schemes transform thelandscape in increasing measure, scientists from around theworld are directing attention to questions of regional andglobal significance. Some of these qustions are: What arethe fluxes of greenhouse gases across the atmosphericinterface of ecosystems? How mush carbon is stored in thebiomass and soils of the basin? How are elements from theland transferred to the basin’s surface waters? What is thesum of elements transferred from land to ocean, and what isits marine fate? This book of original chapters by expertsin chemical and biological oceanography, tropical agronomyand biology, and the atmospheric sciences will address theseand other important questions, with the aim of synthesizingthe current knowledge of biochemical processes operatingwithin and between the various ecosystems in the Amazon basin.