Processes within pasture and crop ecosystems: Some pedological factors of importance to the pasture ecosystem in the South Island

[First paragraph...]
It should not be necessary to emphasise to ecologists the importance of the soil in the pasture ecosystem. Yet it is true that ecologists are not always aware of the limitations of soils with respect to the ecosystem. This is in part because soils are not as easily observed as plants or animals, and in part because of the lack of a course in pedology in the training of ecologists.