Risø National Laboratory, Plant Research Department, Building 313, Postbox 49, Roskilde, DK-4000, Denmark.
Trends Ecol Evol. 2004 Mar;19(3):148-54. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2003.12.003.
Soil is an integral part of terrestrial ecosystems. Many soil ecologists interested in soil ecosystem functioning rely, to some degree, on stable isotope methodologies. The study of the natural abundance of carbon isotopes, especially (13)C but also (14)C, in the environment and the use of stable carbon isotope tracers have proved very useful in investigating the soil carbon cycle and soil trophic relationships. Recent methodological and technical advances have greatly extended the possibilities for the application of stable carbon isotopes to terrestrial ecology and have vastly improved our knowledge of belowground ecosystem functioning and will continue to do so. A better understanding of soil processes is invaluable in predicting the future impacts of global environmental change on terrestrial ecosystems.
土壤是陆地生态系统的组成部分。许多对土壤生态系统功能感兴趣的土壤生态学家在某种程度上依赖稳定同位素方法。对环境中碳同位素自然丰度的研究，特别是 (13)C 但也包括 (14)C，以及稳定碳同位素示踪剂的使用，已被证明对研究土壤碳循环和土壤营养关系非常有用。最近的方法和技术进步极大地扩展了稳定碳同位素在陆地生态学中的应用可能性，并极大地提高了我们对地下生态系统功能的认识，而且这一趋势还将继续。更好地了解土壤过程对于预测全球环境变化对陆地生态系统的未来影响是非常宝贵的。
