Identifying and Comparing Easily Accessible Frameworks for Assessing Soil Organic Matter Functioning

Input of easily available organic C and N stimulates microbial decomposition of soil organic matter in arctic permafrost soil

Rising temperatures in the Arctic can affect soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition directly and indirectly, by increasing plant primary production and thus the allocation of plant-derived organic compounds into the soil. Such compounds, for example root exudates or decaying fine roots, are easily available for microorganisms, and can alter the decomposition of older SOM ("priming effect"). We...

Assessing biodegradable organic matter

Soil Organic Matter Dynamics Controls and Management for Sustainable Ecosystem Functioning

The composition of soil, particularly its organic matter content, reflects its role as a major controller of ecosystem functioning and soil fertility (Paul and Collins 1998, Basso et al. 2011, Bhardwaj et al. 2011). Soil organic matter (SOM), the largest global reservoir of terrestrial organic carbon (C), contains three to four times as much stored C as either the atmosphere or plant biomass. T...

A Free Accessible Individual-based Simulator Enabling Virtual Experiments on Soil Organic Matter Processes in Classroom

This work addresses and aims to fulfil a very clear need in teaching biosystem engineering. When introducing students to the complexity of soil processes, one of the frustrations that teachers ofen experience is the impossibility to demonstrate practically, in the lab, some of the concepts and processes discussed in class. Either the experiments take far longer than a typical laboratory session...

Assessing Relation of Soil Hydrophobicity and Soil Water Content and Determining Threshold Moisture of Organic Soil Samples

Soil water content is the most effective factor associated with the hydrophobic and hydrophilic changes in a soil. Water repellency in soils, is not a permanent feature; it can be reached in the dry season and reduced or eliminated in the wet season It can be said that in terms of moisture, there is a critical region that is defined as the threshold moisture content, where in lower moisture, th...