Modelling moisture controls on SOC decomposition (an update)

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest terrestrial carbon pool. Changes in the hydrological cycle affect C-cycle turnover, with potential effects on the global C balance’s response to global change. However, large scale model representations of the sensitivity of soil carbon to soil moisture, through decomposition and interactions with nutrient cycles, are largely empirical to semi-empirical and uncertain. To better represent these dynamics, the aims of this PhD project* are to: • Investigate the role of soil moisture on SOC decomposition over a vertical profile; • Assess which moisture controls are (most) important in a multi-layered, mechanistic soil biogeochemistry model, the Jena Soil Model (JSM, Fig 2); • Update and improve the representations of soil moisture dynamics in JSM and evaluate this model for multiple sites along a moisture gradient and global scale.