We are convening an AGU Session cross-listed with Biogeosciences and Global Environmental Change that focuses on soil C stabilization by minerals and microbial processes.
B060: Of minerals and microbes: Models and experiments investigating the vulnerability of soil carbon Session ID#: 12633 Session Description: Soil carbon (C) is a large portion of the land C sink. The current size and future changes to this land C sink are becoming important to climate-change-mitigation policymakers. Perturbations associated with global change (e.g., warming, drought, fertilization) may cause linear, non-linear, or threshold changes in soil C stock, and are conceptualized and modeled in a variety of ways. Many theories describing the interaction of minerals and microbes with soil organic matter have been postulated within the past decade. These include the persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property, MEMS (microbial efficiency matrix stabilization), the "onion" layering model, etc. In this session we focus on how these concepts are being applied to and tested using models and experiments. We need to understand and represent mineral and microbial mechanisms correctly in order to predict the vulnerability of soil C to global change and future novel conditions. Conveners: Caitlin Hicks Pries, Rose Z Abramoff, Katerina Georgiou Feel free to contact Rose Abramoff ([email protected]) with any questions about the session.
