Managed grasslands have the potential to store carbon (C) and partially mitigate climate change. However, it remains difficult to predict potential C storage under a given soil or management practice. To study C storage dynamics due to long-term (1952\uffe2\uff80\uff932009) phosphorus (P) fertilizer and irrigation treatments in New Zealand grasslands, we measured radiocarbon (14C) in archived soil along with observed changes in C stocks to constrain a compartmental soil model. Productivity increases from P application and irrigation in these trials resulted in very similar C accumulation rates between 1959 and 2009. The \uffe2\uff88\uff8614C changes over the same time period were similar in plots that were both irrigated and fertilized, and only differed in a non-irrigated fertilized plot. Model results indicated that decomposition rates of fast cycling C (0.1 to 0.2\uffc2\uffa0year\uffe2\uff88\uff921) increased to nearly offset increases in inputs. With increasing P fertilization, decomposition rates also increased in the slow pool (0.005 to 0.008\uffc2\uffa0year\uffe2\uff88\uff921). Our findings show sustained, significant (i.e. greater than 4 per mille) increases in C stocks regardless of treatment or inputs. As the majority of fresh inputs remain in the soil for less than 10\uffc2\uffa0years, these long term increases reflect dynamics of the slow pool. Additionally, frequent irrigation was associated with reduced stocks and increased decomposition of fresh plant material. Rates of C gain and decay highlight trade-offs between productivity, nutrient availability, and soil C sequestration as a climate change mitigation strategy.
A community effort is needed to move soil modeling forward.
Establishing an international soil modeling consortium is key in this respect.
There is a need to better integrate existing knowledge in soil models.
Integration of data and models is a key challenge in soil modeling.
The remarkable complexity of soil and its importance to a wide range of ecosystem services presents major challenges to the modeling of soil processes. Although major progress in soil models has occurred in the last decades, models of soil processes remain disjointed between disciplines or ecosystem services, with considerable uncertainty remaining in the quality of predictions and several challenges that remain yet to be addressed. First, there is a need to improve exchange of knowledge and experience among the different disciplines in soil science and to reach out to other Earth science communities. Second, the community needs to develop a new generation of soil models based on a systemic approach comprising relevant physical, chemical, and biological processes to address critical knowledge gaps in our understanding of soil processes and their interactions. Overcoming these challenges will facilitate exchanges between soil modeling and climate, plant, and social science modeling communities. It will allow us to contribute to preserve and improve our assessment of ecosystem services and advance our understanding of climate\uffe2\uff80\uff90change feedback mechanisms, among others, thereby facilitating and strengthening communication among scientific disciplines and society. We review the role of modeling soil processes in quantifying key soil processes that shape ecosystem services, with a focus on provisioning and regulating services. We then identify key challenges in modeling soil processes, including the systematic incorporation of heterogeneity and uncertainty, the integration of data and models, and strategies for effective integration of knowledge on physical, chemical, and biological soil processes. We discuss how the soil modeling community could best interface with modern modeling activities in other disciplines, such as climate, ecology, and plant research, and how to weave novel observation and measurement techniques into soil models. We propose the establishment of an international soil modeling consortium to coherently advance soil modeling activities and foster communication with other Earth science disciplines. Such a consortium should promote soil modeling platforms and data repository for model development, calibration and intercomparison essential for addressing contemporary challenges.
", "keywords": ["organic-matter dynamics", "550", "QH301 Biology", "0208 environmental biotechnology", "SATURATED-UNSATURATED FLOW", "02 engineering and technology", "soil processes", "01 natural sciences", "Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience", "Sciences de la Terre", "ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI", "sciences du sol", "ANZSRC::3707 Hydrology", "SYNTHETIC-APERTURE RADAR", "ANZSRC::4106 Soil sciences", "SDG 13 - Climate Action", "2. Zero hunger", "GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR", "diffuse-reflectance spectroscopy", "ANZSRC::050399 Soil Sciences not elsewhere classified", "synthetic-aperture radar", "digital elevation model", "SDG 13 \u2013 Ma\u00dfnahmen zum Klimaschutz", "MULTIPLE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES", "knowledge integration", "Crop and Pasture Production", "101028 Mathematical modelling", "570", "DIFFUSE-REFLECTANCE SPECTROSCOPY", "Environmental Engineering", "international soil modeling consortium", "0207 environmental engineering", "Soil Science", "[SDU.STU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences", "arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi", "soil science", "ORGANIC-MATTER DYNAMICS", "QH301", "ANZSRC::0503 Soil Sciences", "Life Science", "SEDIMENT TRANSPORT MODELS", "data integration", "sediment transport models", "approche ecosyst\u00e9mique", "mod\u00e9lisation", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences", "ground-penetrating radar", "info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/550", "soil modeling", "ANZSRC::080110 Simulation and Modelling", "ROOT WATER-UPTAKE", "15. Life on land", "multiple ecosystem services", "root water-uptake", "13. Climate action", "Earth and Environmental Sciences", "Soil Sciences", "[SDU.STU] Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences", "Earth Sciences", "101028 Mathematische Modellierung", "saturated-unsaturated flow", "root water-uptake", " sediment transport models", " diffuse-reflectance spectroscopy", " arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi", " multiple ecosystem services", " saturated-unsaturated flow", " ground-penetrating radar", " synthetic-aperture radar", " digital elevation model", " organic-matter dynamics.", "DIGITAL ELEVATION MODEL"]}, "links": [{"href": "http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.2136/vzj2015.09.0131/fullpdf"}, {"href": "https://escholarship.org/content/qt6976n34c/qt6976n34c.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2015.09.0131"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Vadose%20Zone%20Journal", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.2136/vzj2015.09.0131", "name": "item", "description": "10.2136/vzj2015.09.0131", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.2136/vzj2015.09.0131"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2016-05-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "2164/6134", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-06-23T16:26:43Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2016-05-13", "title": "Modeling Soil Processes: Review, Key Challenges, and New Perspectives", "description": "Core Ideas
A community effort is needed to move soil modeling forward.
Establishing an international soil modeling consortium is key in this respect.
There is a need to better integrate existing knowledge in soil models.
Integration of data and models is a key challenge in soil modeling.
The remarkable complexity of soil and its importance to a wide range of ecosystem services presents major challenges to the modeling of soil processes. Although major progress in soil models has occurred in the last decades, models of soil processes remain disjointed between disciplines or ecosystem services, with considerable uncertainty remaining in the quality of predictions and several challenges that remain yet to be addressed. First, there is a need to improve exchange of knowledge and experience among the different disciplines in soil science and to reach out to other Earth science communities. Second, the community needs to develop a new generation of soil models based on a systemic approach comprising relevant physical, chemical, and biological processes to address critical knowledge gaps in our understanding of soil processes and their interactions. Overcoming these challenges will facilitate exchanges between soil modeling and climate, plant, and social science modeling communities. It will allow us to contribute to preserve and improve our assessment of ecosystem services and advance our understanding of climate\uffe2\uff80\uff90change feedback mechanisms, among others, thereby facilitating and strengthening communication among scientific disciplines and society. We review the role of modeling soil processes in quantifying key soil processes that shape ecosystem services, with a focus on provisioning and regulating services. We then identify key challenges in modeling soil processes, including the systematic incorporation of heterogeneity and uncertainty, the integration of data and models, and strategies for effective integration of knowledge on physical, chemical, and biological soil processes. We discuss how the soil modeling community could best interface with modern modeling activities in other disciplines, such as climate, ecology, and plant research, and how to weave novel observation and measurement techniques into soil models. We propose the establishment of an international soil modeling consortium to coherently advance soil modeling activities and foster communication with other Earth science disciplines. Such a consortium should promote soil modeling platforms and data repository for model development, calibration and intercomparison essential for addressing contemporary challenges.
", "keywords": ["organic-matter dynamics", "550", "Sciences de l\u2019environnement & \u00e9cologie", "QH301 Biology", "Knowledge management", "0208 environmental biotechnology", "ECOSYSTEM SERVICES", "02 engineering and technology", "soil processes", "01 natural sciences", "Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience", "Sciences de la Terre", "Biological process", "ANZSRC::3707 Hydrology", "DROUGHT SEVERITY INDEX", "SYNTHETIC-APERTURE RADAR", "ANZSRC::4106 Soil sciences", "SDG 13 - Climate Action", "Climate change", "0503 Soil Sciences", "GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR", "Integration of knowledge", "Life sciences", "ANZSRC::050399 Soil Sciences not elsewhere classified", "synthetic-aperture radar", "Physical Sciences", "Water Resources", "Knowledge and experience", "MULTIPLE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES", "knowledge integration", "570", "DIFFUSE-REFLECTANCE SPECTROSCOPY", "Environmental Engineering", "Physique", " chimie", " math\u00e9matiques & sciences de la terre", "Scientific discipline", "0703 Crop and Pasture Production", "0207 environmental engineering", "Soil Science", "soil science", "ORGANIC-MATTER DYNAMICS", "DATA ASSIMILATION", "Physical", " chemical", " mathematical & earth Sciences", "ANZSRC::0503 Soil Sciences", "Science disciplines", "PEDOTRANSFER FUNCTIONS", "Feedback mechanisms", "mod\u00e9lisation", "ground-penetrating radar", "Science & Technology", "ANZSRC::080110 Simulation and Modelling", "15. Life on land", "Sciences de la terre & g\u00e9ographie physique", "multiple ecosystem services", "root water-uptake", "Observation and measurement", "DIGITAL ELEVATION MODEL", "Quality of predictions", "SATURATED-UNSATURATED FLOW", "ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI", "sciences du sol", "HYDRAULIC-PROPERTIES", "2. Zero hunger", "Agriculture", "diffuse-reflectance spectroscopy", "4106 Soil sciences", "ORGANIC-MATTER", "digital elevation model", "SDG 13 \u2013 Ma\u00dfnahmen zum Klimaschutz", "Sciences du vivant", "Uncertainty analysis", "0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience", "Life Sciences & Biomedicine", "Crop and Pasture Production", "101028 Mathematical modelling", "international soil modeling consortium", "[SDU.STU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences", "Environmental Sciences & Ecology", "arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi", "Ecosystems", "Climate models", "QH301", "Environmental sciences & ecology", "Life Science", "SEDIMENT TRANSPORT MODELS", "data integration", "sediment transport models", "approche ecosyst\u00e9mique", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences", "info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/550", "3707 Hydrology", "soil modeling", "ROOT WATER-UPTAKE", "SOLUTE TRANSPORT", "13. Climate action", "Earth and Environmental Sciences", "Soil Sciences", "[SDU.STU] Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences", "Earth Sciences", "Earth sciences & physical geography", "Soils", "101028 Mathematische Modellierung", "saturated-unsaturated flow", "Environmental Sciences", "root water-uptake", " sediment transport models", " diffuse-reflectance spectroscopy", " arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi", " multiple ecosystem services", " saturated-unsaturated flow", " ground-penetrating radar", " synthetic-aperture radar", " digital elevation model", " organic-matter dynamics."]}, "links": [{"href": "https://orbi.uliege.be/bitstream/2268/263634/1/Vereecken%20VZJ%202016.pdf"}, {"href": "http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.2136/vzj2015.09.0131/fullpdf"}, {"href": "https://escholarship.org/content/qt6976n34c/qt6976n34c.pdf"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/2164/6134"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Vadose%20Zone%20Journal", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "2164/6134", "name": "item", "description": "2164/6134", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/2164/6134"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2016-05-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "20.500.11850/504181", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-06-23T16:26:28Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2021-08-27", "title": "Soil organic matter turnover rates increase to match increased inputs in grazed grasslands", "description": "AbstractManaged grasslands have the potential to store carbon (C) and partially mitigate climate change. However, it remains difficult to predict potential C storage under a given soil or management practice. To study C storage dynamics due to long-term (1952\uffe2\uff80\uff932009) phosphorus (P) fertilizer and irrigation treatments in New Zealand grasslands, we measured radiocarbon (14C) in archived soil along with observed changes in C stocks to constrain a compartmental soil model. Productivity increases from P application and irrigation in these trials resulted in very similar C accumulation rates between 1959 and 2009. The \uffe2\uff88\uff8614C changes over the same time period were similar in plots that were both irrigated and fertilized, and only differed in a non-irrigated fertilized plot. Model results indicated that decomposition rates of fast cycling C (0.1 to 0.2\uffc2\uffa0year\uffe2\uff88\uff921) increased to nearly offset increases in inputs. With increasing P fertilization, decomposition rates also increased in the slow pool (0.005 to 0.008\uffc2\uffa0year\uffe2\uff88\uff921). Our findings show sustained, significant (i.e. greater than 4 per mille) increases in C stocks regardless of treatment or inputs. As the majority of fresh inputs remain in the soil for less than 10\uffc2\uffa0years, these long term increases reflect dynamics of the slow pool. Additionally, frequent irrigation was associated with reduced stocks and increased decomposition of fresh plant material. Rates of C gain and decay highlight trade-offs between productivity, nutrient availability, and soil C sequestration as a climate change mitigation strategy.