A review of silicon cycling in forest ecosystem

Silicon biogeochemistry plays an important role in controlling structure and function of forest ecosystems. Forest vegetation does recycle substantial amounts of silicon from and back to the soil solution with phytoliths as an intermediate phase. However, silicon as a beneficial inorganic element in forest ecosystems has not been systematically studied. In recent years, the importance of silicon biogeochemistry in terrestrial ecosystems, especially in forest ecosystem, has received increasingly more attention. Advances of silicon cycling in forest ecosystem were reviewed in this paper introducing silicon chemical forms of silicon and distribution, and the silicon biological cycling including characteristics, significance and influencing factors in forest ecosystems. Specific questions that should be addressed in future research may be included, but not limited to: (1) The mechanism of silicon cycling in typical forest ecosystems; (2) The difference of silicon cycling between forest ecosystems and other ecosystems; (3) The influence of silicon cycling in forest ecosystem on global climate change and the response of silicon cycling in forest ecosystem to the global climate change; and (4) The effect of human interference on silicon cycling in forest ecosystem.