A holistic perspective on soil architecture is needed as a key to soil functions

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorVogel, Hans-Jörg
dc.contributor.authorBalseiro-Romero, María
dc.contributor.authorKravchenko, Alexandra
dc.contributor.authorOtten, Wilfred
dc.contributor.authorPot, Valérie
dc.contributor.authorSchlüter, Steffen
dc.contributor.authorWeller, Ulrich
dc.contributor.authorBaveye, Philippe C.
dc.date.accessioned2021-08-04T15:07:52Z
dc.date.available2021-08-04T15:07:52Z
dc.date.issued2021-07-26
dc.description.abstractSoil functions, including climate regulation and the cycling of water and nutrients, are of central importance for a number of environmental issues of great societal concern. To understand and manage these functions, it is crucial to be able to quantify the structure of soils, now increasingly referred to as their “architecture”, as it constraints the physical, chemical, and biological processes in soils. This quantification was traditionally approached from two different angles, one focussed on aggregates of the solid phase, and the other on the pore space. The recent development of sophisticated, non-disturbing imaging techniques has led to significant progress in the description of soil architecture, in terms of both the pore space and the spatial configuration of mineral and organic materials. We now have direct access to virtually all aspects of soil architecture. In the present article, we review how this affects the perception of soil architecture specifically when trying to describe the functions of soils. A key conclusion of our analysis is that soil architecture, in that context, imperatively needs to be explored in its natural state, with as little disturbance as possible. The same requirement applies to the key processes taking place in the hierarchical soil pore network, including those contributing to the emergence of a heterogeneous organo-mineral soil matrix by various mixing processes such as bioturbation, diffusion, microbial metabolism and organo-mineral interactions. Artificially isolated aggregates are fundamentally inappropriate to derive conclusions about the functioning of an intact soil. To fully account for soil functions, we argue that a holistic approach that centres on the pore space is mandatory while the dismantlement of soils into chunks may still be carried out to study the binding of soil solid components. In the future, significant progress is expected along this holistic direction, as new, advanced technologies become available.en_UK
dc.identifier.citationVogel HJ, Balseiro-Romero M, Kravchenko A, et al., (2022) A holistic perspective on soil architecture is needed as a key to soil functions. European Journal of Soil Science, Volume 73, Issue 1, January - February 2022, Article number e13152en_UK
dc.identifier.issn1351-0754
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.13152
dc.identifier.urihttp://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/16971
dc.language.isoenen_UK
dc.publisherWileyen_UK
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/*
dc.subjectbioturbationen_UK
dc.subjectorganic matteren_UK
dc.subjectsoil mechanicsen_UK
dc.subjectsoil structureen_UK
dc.subjectaggregationen_UK
dc.subjectsoil functionsen_UK
dc.titleA holistic perspective on soil architecture is needed as a key to soil functionsen_UK
dc.typeArticleen_UK

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Holistic_perspective_on_soil_architecture-2021.pdf
Size:
2.16 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.63 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

Staff publications (SWEE)