Life in soil modifies its physical environment to optimize growth and reproductive conditions. Especially in hotspots of biological activity, soil organisms induce remarkable alterations in soil structure and functions. Elucidating the underlying mechanisms forcing such adaptive modifications, and exploring the feedbacks between the drivers, offers an exceptional opportunity to advance our understanding of fundamental physical and biological processes across scales.
We seek contributions linking biological processes and soil physics at any spatial and temporal scale. For example, insights into how the rhizosphere and its microbiome control fluxes beyond the pore scale; on the role of biological soil crust in regulating infiltration and limiting soil erosion across vast areas of the earth’s surface and; on how bioturbation shapes soil hydraulic characteristics over years and decades.
Topics of the Soil Biophysics session include but are not limited to:
1. Root growth
2. Microbial activity
3. Bioturbation
4. Virus dispersal
5. Resource allocation
6. Soil water dynamics
7. Soil structure formation
8. Biological soil crusts
9. Rhizosphere interactions
10. EPS (incl. mucilage)
The aim of this session is to highlight the potential of interdisciplinary approaches to address current and future challenges in soil science and to foster scientific exchange across disciplines.