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Climate, organisms, topographic relief, and parent material interacting through time are the dominant factors that control processes of soil formation and determine soil properties. In both forest and savanna ecosystems, trees affect soil properties through several pathways. Trees alter inputs to the soil system by increasing capture of wetfall and dryfall and by adding to soil N via N₂-fixation. They affect the morphology and chemical conditions of the soil as a result of the characteristics of above- and below-ground litter inputs. The chemical and physical nature of leaf, bark, branch, and roots alter decomposition and nutrient availability via controls on soil water and the soil fauna involved in litter breakdown. Extensive lateral root systems scavenge soil nutrients and redistribute them beneath tree canopies. In general, trees represent both conduits through which nutrients cycle and sites for the accumulation of …