Minerals are widely assumed to protect organic matter (OM) from degradation in the environment, promoting the persistence of carbon in soil and sediments. In this Review, we describe the mechanisms and processes operating at the mineral–organic interface as they relate to OM transformation dynamics.
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J.-L. Janeau, IRD research engineer at iEES Paris (FEST and F2ZC teams), is co-organizer of an EGU21 session.
Soil carbon persistence can be understood through the lens of decomposers as a result of functional complexity derived from the interplay between spatial and temporal variation of molecular diversity and composition. For example, co-location alone can determine whether a molecule is decomposed, with rapid changes in moisture leading to transport of organic matter and constraining the fitness of the microbial community, while greater molecular diversity may increase the metabolic demand of, and thus potentially limit, decomposition.
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In this prospective article, an international consortium coordinated by researchers from the University of Copenhagen examines the prospects for using the “third dimension” of agricultural land, i.e. the possibility, without resorting to new land, of increasing the volume of soil exploited by the root system of crops, thereby increasing the resource base available for agricultural production while minimizing the undesirable externalities frequently associated with current agroecosystems.
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For more than 10 years, the City of Paris and the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris have been collaborating on various issues of urban ecology. From these multiform collaborations at the interface between fundamental research and concrete techniques for the management of urban environments, several advances have been made on both scientific […]