Biological processes in modelling soil functions – a balancing act between too complex and too simple

Mechanistic simulation models are an essential tool for predicting soil functions such as nutrient cycling, water filtering and storage, productivity and carbon storage as well as the complex interactions between these functions. Most soil functions are driven or affected by soil organisms. Yet, biological processes are often neglected in soil function models or implicitly described by rate parameters. This can be explained by the high complexity of the soil ecosystem with its dynamic and heterogeneous environment, and by the range of temporal and spatial scales these processes are taking place at. On the other hand, the technical capabilities to explore microbial activity and communities in soil has greatly improved, resulting in new possibilities to understand soil microbial processes on various scales.

However, to integrate such biological processes in soil modelling, we need to find the right level of detail. Here, we present a systemic soil model approach to simulate the impact of different management options and changing climate on soil functions integrating biological activity on the profile scale. We use stoichiometric considerations to simulate microbial processes involved in different soil functions without explicitly describing community dynamics or functional groups. With this approach we are able to mechanistically describe microbial activity and its impact on the turnover of organic matter and nutrient cycling as driven by agricultural soil management.

Further, we discuss general challenges and ongoing developments to additionally consider, e.g., microbe-fauna-interactions or microbial feedback with soil structure dynamics.