Individual-Based Modeling of Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics in Soils: Parameterization and Sensitivity Analysis of Abiotic Components
Authored by Marta Ginovart, Xavier Portell, Anna Gras, Philippe C Baveye
Date Published: 2010
DOI: 10.1097/ss.0b013e3181eda507
Sponsors:
Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN)
Platforms:
No platforms listed
Model Documentation:
Other Narrative
Flow charts
Mathematical description
Model Code URLs:
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Abstract
The need to predict with reasonable accuracy the fate of soil C and N
compounds in soils in response to climate change is stimulating interest
in a new generation of microscale models of soil ecosystem processes.
Essential to the development of such models is the ability to describe
the growth and metabolism of small numbers of individual microorganisms.
In this context, the key objective of the research described in this
article was to further develop an individual-based soil organic matter
(SOM) model, INDISIM-SOM, first proposed a few years ago, and to assess
its performance with a broader data set than previously considered. The
INDISIM-SOM models the dynamics and evolution of C and N associated with
organic matter in soils. The model involves a number of state variables
and parameters related to SOM and microbial activity, including growth
and decay of microbial biomass, temporal evolution of mineralized
intermediate C and N, mineral N in ammonium and nitrate, carbon dioxide, and O(2). Simulation results demonstrate good fit of the model to
experimental data from laboratory incubation experiments performed on
three different types of Mediterranean soils. A second objective was to
determine the sensitivity of the model toward its various parameters.
Sensitivity was small for several of the parameters, suggesting possible
simplifications of the model for specific uses, but was significant
particularly for the parameter associated with the fraction of the soil
C present in the biomass. These results suggest that research should be
focused on improving the measurement of this latter parameter.
Tags
Simulation
microorganisms
Mathematical-models
Porous-media
Mineralization
Organic-matter decomposition
Microbial activity
Saturated soils
Reaction-rates
Daisy model