Orals

Soil is an environment where minerals undergo steady changes with consequences to the bioavailability and cycling of elements. Chemical weathering of primary minerals provides nutrients to soil biota and results in the formation of secondary minerals that react strongly with pollutants, organic matter, and organisms. Soil minerals, therefore, are major controls in the biogeochemical cycling of elements in soil. The complex interactions between minerals and their abiotic and biotic environment offer numerous challenges to modern environmental research, such as (1) the identification of relevant mineral-related processes at different spatial and temporal scales, (2) the determination of properties of soil minerals, and (3) the resulting impact of soil minerals on element speciation, mobility, and bioavailability. The session aims at bringing together expertise in field, laboratory, and modelling studies for shedding light on all aspects of soil minerals as determinants in the biogeochemical cycling of major (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur) and trace elements (e.g., antimony, cadmium, molybdenum, and selenium).