Soil is a heterogeneous and dynamic system located at the interface between the atmosphere and the earth's crust between the mineral and biomass, and is the main physical and nutritional support for living beings. Modelling soil processes and systems and is essential for rational land use planning and for restoration of damaged areas. This session is aimed at discussing a proposing new approaches to soil system and processes modelling.
Soil complexity therefore can be observed in its constituents (a organic and mineral solid phase, a liquid phase and a gaseous phase, in different physical organization levels (organization of the profile, pore space, aggregates, organic compounds and minerals, etc.), biological levels (oxidizable organic matter, macro, meso and microbiota, etc.) or in changes in time and space of these properties.
Change processes take place at spatial scales ranging from nano-scale to the landscape or watershed scale. This suggests a strong relationship between the properties and constituents of the soil among themselves and with other external factors. A key challenge in the research of soil is the understanding and modelling of soil functioning to allow management and retrieval. This requires advances in technology to characterize a range of spatial scales combined with a new mathematical framework for capturing the complex soil system.
With this session, we hope to discuss the advantages and limitations of different parameters and soil models, sharing new ideas and tools for a better understanding of the soil system.