Soils harbor a highly diverse spatial organization that shapes biogeochemical processes and ecosystem functions across scales. For example, these span from microbial habitats, organic and mineral surfaces, detritusphere and rhizosphere to soil aggregate structures and chemical gradients shaped by pedogenic and anthropogenic processes, all influencing the transformation and persistence of organic matter, nutrients other elements. In this session, we invite diverse empirical, synthesis, and modeling studies that address how biological, physical, and chemical hotspots and hot moments shape soil organic matter dynamics, soil biogeochemistry and ecosystem functions.
This includes studies that resolve biogeochemical hotspots across spatial and temporal scales to elucidate the mechanisms controlling soil organic matter storage, persistence, and vulnerability. We welcome contributions integrating diverse biological, physical, and geochemical perspectives, from targeted experiments and high-resolution observations to long-term studies, large-scale syntheses, and integrative modeling. Emerging approaches that combine novel analytical or computational methods, including AI and machine learning, with experimental and observational data are particularly welcome. We aim to bring these perspectives together to advance a cross-scale understanding of how soil heterogeneity and architecture shape organic matter dynamics and ecosystem functions.