Article
Soil Science
M. S. Kukal, S. Irmak, R. Dobos, S. Gupta
Summary: Atmospheric dryness plays a dominant role in agroecosystems by limiting stomatal behavior, even when soil moisture is sufficient. Its impact on carbon and water fluxes makes it an important element of global change, posing risks to food security and agricultural profitability. The response of crop yields to atmospheric dryness is influenced by the heterogeneity in soils' ability to retain water for plant uptake.
Article
Soil Science
Quentin Styc, Philippe Lagacherie
Summary: The study aimed to develop a method for mapping Soil Available Water Capacity (SAWC) that could predict SAWC values at different maximum rooting depths and their uncertainties. By considering the correlations between soil layer errors, the accuracy of SAWC predictions and uncertainty estimates was improved.
Article
Environmental Studies
Shuxia Jia, Xingpeng Li, Wensheng Sun, Qian Wang, Hongwen Liu, Chunyan Zhou, Weina Zhang, Feng Li
Summary: This study investigated the seasonal variations of fine root traits in natural Pinus koraiensis forests and their relationship with soil properties. The results showed that fine root trait plasticity of P. koraiensis is closely related to soil available nutrient contents, CEC, and species composition at the ecosystem level.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ruijun Jiang, Tonglu Li, Zhijie Jia, Yonglu Dong
Summary: This study investigated the soil properties and groundwater resources of Hailiutu pasture in Inner Mongolia, China, and measured the soil water characteristics. The results showed that the pasture had an available water capacity of 218.0 mm and acted as a natural capillary barrier optimizing irrigation. Therefore, a drip irrigation method was designed for irrigation in dryland pastures.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Hocine Bourennane, Philippe Lagacherie, Mercedes Roman Dobarco, Catherine Pasquier, Isabelle Cousin
Summary: This study proposed a methodology to infer local estimates of available water capacity (AWC) and examined the impact of measurement errors on spatial estimates. Results from 47 soundings and 14 laboratory measurements showed that accounting for measurement errors led to more precise estimates of AWC.
PRECISION AGRICULTURE
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jean Pierre Cavalli, Elias Frank de Araujo, Jose Miguel Reichert
Summary: The potential productivity of eucalyptus trees in Brazil was evaluated using a model and the results showed that soil type has a significant impact on productivity. Arenosols soil showed a decline in productivity after 58 months, while Acrisols soil exhibited high productivity up to 89 months.
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Surya Gupta, Peter Lehmann, Samuel Bickel, Sara Bonetti, Dani Or
Summary: The estimation of plant-available soil water is crucial for various applications including quantifying transpiration fluxes, heatwaves, irrigation water management, land-use decisions, vegetation ecology, and land surface memory in climate models. This study revises the definition of plant-available soil water to incorporate soil-specific dynamic effects and local climate effects, resulting in improved global maps of plant-available soil water. The results show that global soil water storage rarely exceeds a certain value, emphasizing the need for multiple refilling of soil profiles.
JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN MODELING EARTH SYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Mohamed Alkassem, Samuel Buis, Guillaume Coulouma, Frederic Jacob, Philippe Lagacherie, Laurent Prevot
Summary: This study uses remote sensing data and crop model inversion to map the soil available water capacity (SAWC) and its components. The results show that the retrieval performances are quite poor overall, but significantly correlated with field estimates for some scenarios. The specific processes at certain sites and the combination of constraint variables show potential to improve the retrieval performances.
Article
Soil Science
Jun Zhang, James E. Amonette, Markus Flury
Summary: Biochar has significant effects on plant-available water in different soils, especially in sandy soil. However, the particle size of biochar does not have a major impact on plant-available water.
SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
J. Kemppinen, P. Niittynen, T. Rissanen, V. Tyystjaervi, J. Aalto, M. Luoto
Summary: Soil moisture has significant spatio-temporal variations in boreal forest and tundra environments. Comprehensive soil moisture datasets are scarce in these environments. The relationship between soil moisture and topography is site-specific and varies in space and time. General topographic models show poor performance when transferred from one area to another. The strong spatio-temporal heterogeneity of soil moisture conditions in boreal forest and tundra environments should be carefully considered.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Paula Meli, Mariana Bettinardi, Pedro H. S. Brancalion
Summary: The study classified the flooding tolerance of 15 native tree species and found that the flooding tolerance index was significantly correlated with the occurrence of hypertrophied lenticels. Selecting tree species based on nursery screenings helped predict species growth, but was not effective in predicting seedling survival rates. Species identity had a significant impact on seedling performance in restoration plantations, while soil preparation methods had minimal influence.
APPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Katalin Juhos, Balazs Madarasz, Zsolt Kotroczo, Aron Beni, Marianna Makadi, Istvan Fekete
Summary: The long-term detritus manipulation study in a Central-European forest site revealed significant impact of detritus input treatments on soil organic carbon and almost all soil physicochemical indicators within the upper 15 cm layer. This site is unique due to its high clay content and dry climate, suggesting the importance of potential cation exchange capacity and base saturation in predicting carbon sequestration mechanisms. It is recommended to include these parameters in current soil organic carbon models.
Article
Plant Sciences
J-P George, P-C Burkner, T. G. M. Sanders, M. Neumann, C. Cammalleri, J. V. Vogt, M. Lang
Summary: European forests have experienced exceptional droughts in the last two decades, leading to increasing mortality rates in trees and species-specific impacts. Analysis of extensive observational data shows that previous-year soil moisture anomaly is the primary driver of mortality patterns in conifers.
Article
Agronomy
Ehsan Zare, Jie Wang, Dongxue Zhao, Maryam Arshad, John Triantafilis
Summary: This study successfully created a digital soil mapping (DSM) of available water content (AWC) in the root-zone, providing dryland cotton farmers with a better tool for soil management. The DSM demonstrated substantial agreement between measured and predicted field capacity (FC) and permanent wilting point (PWP) at all depths, with a superior performance of stepwise-MLR models. The final DSM allows farmers to better manage AWC, distinguishing between large AWC in clay-rich Vertosols and small AWC in loamy soil of the Pilliga Sandstone.
AGRICULTURAL WATER MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Annikki Makela, Xianglin Tian, Anna Repo, Hannu Ilvesniemi, John Marshall, Francesco Minunno, Torgny Nasholm, Pauliina Schiestl-Aalto, Aleksi Lehtonen
Summary: There is evidence that carbon use efficiency decreases with increasing latitude in boreal forests, and the abundance of ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECM) is positively correlated with latitude. This study developed models to quantify the relationship between ECM abundance and carbon use efficiency, and found that ECM can use a significant proportion of the carbon assimilated by vegetation, leading to a decline in carbon use efficiency at higher latitudes.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Omar Flores, Gaby Deckmyn, Jorge Curiel Yuste, Mathieu Javaux, Alexei Uvarov, Sietse van der Linde, Bruno De Vos, Harry Vereecken, Juan Jimenez, Olga Vinduskova, Andrea Schnepf
Summary: The study introduces a new model, KEYLINK, which integrates soil structure, SOM pools concept, and elements from food web models to improve predictions on soil carbon and water balance.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Louis de Wergifosse, Frederic Andre, Hugues Goosse, Andrzej Boczon, Sebastien Cecchini, Albert Ciceu, Alessio Collalti, Nathalie Cools, Ettore D'Andrea, Bruno De Vos, Rafiq Hamdi, Morten Ingerslev, Morten Alban Knudsen, Anna Kowalska, Stefan Leca, Giorgio Matteucci, Thomas Nord-Larsen, Tanja Gm Sanders, Andreas Schmitz, Piet Termonia, Elena Vanguelova, Bert Van Schaeybroeck, Arne Verstraeten, Lars Vesterdal, Mathieu Jonard
Summary: This study focused on simulating oak and beech forest growth under different climate change scenarios using the HETEROFOR model. The results showed that climate change had varying effects on net primary production (NPP) in different zones, influenced by factors such as air temperature, rainfall, soil water reserve, and stand characteristics. Increasing CO2 concentration significantly boosted NPP for oak and beech forests.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Mark A. Anthony, Thomas W. Crowther, Sietse van der Linde, Laura M. Suz, Martin Bidartondo, Filipa Cox, Marcus Schaub, Pasi Rautio, Marco Ferretti, Lars Vesterdal, Bruno De Vos, Mike Dettwiler, Nadine Eickenscheidt, Andreas Schmitz, Henning Meesenburg, Henning Andreae, Frank Jacob, Hans-Peter Dietrich, Peter Waldner, Arthur Gessler, Beat Frey, Oliver Schramm, Pim van den Bulk, Arjan Hensen, Colin Averill
Summary: This study investigates the effects of ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) on tree growth and finds that the composition of EMF is strongly correlated with tree growth rate. The study also suggests that the proportion of nitrogen acquisition genes and exploration types of EMF communities play a role in determining tree growth.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Bruno De Vos, Nathalie Cools, Arne Verstraeten, Johan Neirynck
Summary: Monitoring volumetric soil water content (theta(v)) is crucial for assessing water availability and nutrient fluxes. This study found that standard predictions underestimated real water content, but layer-specific calibration reduced overall prediction error. The calibration dataset size and sensor quantity are important for accuracy improvement in soil water content monitoring.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ilie Storms, Sanne Verdonck, Bruno Verbist, Patrick Willems, Pieterjan De Geest, Martin Gutsch, Nathalie Cools, Bruno De Vos, Mats Mahnken, Joachim Lopez, Jos Van Orshoven, Bart Muys
Summary: This study proposes a methodology to improve yield tables for 11 tree species in the Netherlands and Flanders, Belgium, using climate-sensitive process-based modeling. The results show an average increase in stand productivity from 1987-2016 compared to 1961-1990, and simulations suggest that this positive growth trend will continue in the coming decades. Local site variability is also found to be important in assessing forests' response to climate change.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
S. Ottoy, E. Truyers, M. De Block, S. Lettens, W. Swinnen, N. Broothaerts, R. Hendrix, J. Van Orshoven, G. Verstraeten, B. De Vos, K. Vancampenhout
Summary: This study developed and validated a digital soil mapping procedure to accurately assess the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock in nature conservation areas in Flanders, N. Belgium, and identified soil carbon hotspots. The results showed significant variations in SOC stocks within the conservation areas, influenced by factors such as soil type, vegetation type, groundwater level, and clay fraction. However, the study also found that local variability, uncertainties in input data, and unmapped elements can hinder the accurate estimation of SOC stocks and hotspots.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Martyn N. Futter, Thomas Dirnboeck, Martin Forsius, Jaana K. Back, Nathalie Cools, Eugenio Diaz-Pines, Jan Dick, Veronika Gaube, Lauren M. Gillespie, Lars Hogbom, Hjalmar Laudon, Michael Mirtl, Nikolaos Nikolaidis, Christian Poppe Teran, Ute Skiba, Harry Vereecken, Holger Villock, James Weldon, Christoph Wohner, Syed Ashraful Alam
Summary: Integrated long-term, in-situ observations are crucial to document environmental change, ground-truth remote sensing and model outputs, and predict future Earth system behavior. Research infrastructures can support harmonized data collection, curation, and publication, and integrating these networks can provide insights into the terrestrial carbon sink.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Arne Verstraeten, Nicolas Bruffaerts, Fabiana Cristofolini, Elena Vanguelova, Johan Neirynck, Gerrit Genouw, Bruno De Vos, Peter Waldner, Anne Thimonier, Anita Nussbaumer, Mathias Neumann, Sue Benham, Pasi Rautio, Liisa Ukonmaanaho, Paeivi Merilae, Antti-Jussi Lindroos, Annika Saarto, Jukka Reiniharju, Nicholas Clarke, Volkmar Timmermann, Manuel Nicolas, Maria Schmitt, Katrin Meusburger, Anna Kowalska, Idalia Kasprzyk, Katarzyna Kluska, Lukasz Grewling, Malgorzata Malkiewicz, Lars Vesterdal, Morten Ingerslev, Miklos Manninger, Donat Magyar, Hugues Titeux, Gunilla Pihl Karlsson, Regula Gehrig, Sandy Adriaenssens, Agneta Ekebom, Asloeg Dahl, Marco Ferretti, Elena Gottardini
Summary: The effects of tree pollen on precipitation chemistry are not fully understood, which may lead to misinterpretations of element deposition in European forests. The study found that tree pollen has an impact on the element fluxes in forest throughfall, but the extent of the impact varies among different tree species.
Review
Soil Science
Augusto Zanella, Jean-Francois Ponge, Bernard Jabiol, Bas Van Delft, Rein De Waal, Klaus Katzensteiner, Eckart Kolb, Nicolas Bernier, Giacomo Mei, Manuel Blouin, Jerome Juilleret, Noemie Pousse, Silvia Stanchi, Fernando Cesario, Renee-Claire Le Bayon, Dylan Tatti, Silvia Chersich, Luca Carollo, Michael Englisch, Anna Schroetter, Judith Schaufler, Eleonora Bonifacio, Ines Fritz, Adriano Sofo, Stephane Bazot, Jean-Christophe Lata, Jean-Francois Iffly, Carlos E. Wetzel, Christophe Hissler, Ginevra Fabiani, Michael Aubert, Andrea Vacca, Gianluca Serra, Cristina Menta, Francesca Visentin, Nathalie Cools, Cristian Bolzonella, Lorenzo Frizzera, Roberto Zampedri, Mauro Tomasi, Paola Galvan, Przemyslaw Charzynski, Elina Zakharchenko, Seyed Mohammad Waez-Mousavi, Jean-Jacques Brun, Roberto Menardi, Fausto Fontanella, Nicola Zaminato, Silvio Carollo, Alessio Brandolese, Michele Bertelle, Gaetan Zanella, Thomas Bronner, Ulfert Graefe, Herbert Hager
Summary: This article emphasizes the importance of a standardized classification of humipedons and provides a morpho-functional taxonomy for better understanding and management of soil ecosystems. By measuring and recognizing diagnostic horizons, different humus systems and forms can be identified.
Article
Soil Science
Bernd Ahrends, Heike Fortmann, Henning Meesenburg
Summary: Atmospheric acid deposition has increased significantly since industrialization, but has decreased since the 1980s due to clean-air policies. While there is limited data on the recovery of forest soils from acidification, surface waters have shown widespread recovery following declining acid deposition. Studies indicate that mitigation measures such as forest liming may still be necessary due to considerable soil acidification levels.
Article
Ecology
TaeOh Kwon, Hideaki Shibata, Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas, Inger K. Schmidt, Klaus S. Larsen, Claus Beier, Bjorn Berg, Kris Verheyen, Jean-Francois Lamarque, Frank Hagedorn, Nico Eisenhauer, Ika Djukic
Summary: Litter decomposition is influenced by environmental factors, substrate quality, microbial communities, and N deposition. Climate impacts on global-scale decomposition are general but become more significant as decomposition progresses, while N deposition effects are litter-specific and significant in certain biomes. Climate changes are expected to increase litter mass loss, while N deposition changes may dampen climate-driven increases in decomposition, depending on biome and substrate stage.
FRONTIERS IN FORESTS AND GLOBAL CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Rainer Brumme, Bernd Ahrends, Joachim Block, Christoph Schulz, Henning Meesenburg, Uwe Klinck, Markus Wagner, Partap K. Khanna
Summary: Excessive nitrogen deposition in forest ecosystems in Germany has led to accelerated plant growth, increased internal nitrogen cycling, and enhanced retention of nitrogen in soil and plant compartments. The impact of European beech fructification on nitrogen fluxes is not well understood, with limited research on the frequency of mast events and their effects on nitrogen cycling. Further research is needed to understand the role of mast products in nitrogen retention in forest ecosystems.
