Programme

Soil biogeochemical data-modeling integration focuses on:
- soil hydrology and its links with soil respiration and biogeochemistry
- biogeochemical processes studied in feedbacks with soil structure and by high-resolution imaging
- biogeochemical models development and up-scaling issues

Water is a critical driver for soil biogeochemical processes. Hydrologic connections within the soil pore network facilitate flow and transport that enable microbial processing of soil organic materials, and other redox-associated biogeochemical processes. As extreme events such as droughts and storms increase in frequency, a focused understanding of the coupling between water, microorganisms, and biogeochemistry is needed to improve both empirical understanding and simulation models of C cycling processes at all scales. Dormant microorganisms may revive, or functional shifts in microbial activities may occur, that can be related to changing hydrologic states. Studies that couple hydrology to soil structure, microbial C cycling and biogeochemistry are welcome, as are those that emphasize ‘omics-based diagnostics or metrics for monitoring and predicting soil microbial community activities and biodiversity in response to hydrologic changes.