Course detail

LSN5903 - Modeling Soil Organic Matter Dynamics


Credit hours

In-class work
per week
Practice
per week
Credits
Duration
Total
4
4
4
5 weeks
60 hours

Instructor
Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino Cerri

Objective
To train and update the scientific knowledge about the composition and structure of the main soil organic compartments, with a view to their use in simulation models of soil organic matter dynamics (mainly the Century model) under tropical natural ecosystems and those modified by agricultural use.

Content
The syllabus of the discipline is divided in 3 major parts, and the main topics to be treated are mentioned below. The first two parts will be taught in classroom (theoretical classes) and the other in the computer lab (practical classes). Part 1) Introduction to soil organic matter concepts and definitions, origin and distribution, compartment characteristics (litter, crop residues and organic residues, throughfall, roots and rhizodeposites, soil organisms, non-humic substances, humus), decomposition dynamics, soil organic matter and environment. Part 2) Main simulation models used in research on soil organic matter Concepts and definitions about models, steps and procedures in modeling, history, compartments of organic matter of the soil contemplated in modeling, characteristics and structure of the main models of organic matter simulation Examples of using the Century, RothC, DNDC, DayCent and TEM models. Part 3) Century Ecosystem Model (Century) Origin, simulated elements (C, N, P and S), general structure of the model, characteristics of submodels of crop production (forest, pasture and crops), soil water, soil organic matter And their compartments, input and output data of the model, examples of Century model applications in soil organic matter studies under temperate and tropical climate conditions, building Site files, management practices (.100 files) and schedule files, execution of the model using real data on conversion of forests to pastures in the Amazon (data will be provided by the professor).

Bibliography
Brady, N.C.; Weil, R.R. 2015. The nature and properties of soils. New Jersey:Prentice Hall. 965p.
Haefner, J.W. 1996. Modeling Biological Systems. New York: Chapman & Hall. 473p.
Jenkinson, D.S. 1990. The turnover of organic carbon and nitrogen in soil. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London B, 329, 361-368.
Jenny, H., 1980. The Soil Resource – Origin and Behavior. Springer, New York.
Krapivin, V.F; Varotsos, C.A. 2008. Biogeochemical cycles in globalization and sustainable development. Springer: Chicester. 501p.
Metherell, A.K., L.A. Harding, C.V. Cole, and W.J. Parton. 1993. CENTURY Soil organic matter model environment. Technical documentation. Agroecosystem version 4.0. USDA-ARS, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
Nieder, R.; Benbi, D.K. 2008. Carbon and nitrogen in the terrestrial environment. Springer: Braunschweig. 417p.
Parton, W.J., D.S. Ojima, and D.S. Schimel. 1996. Models to evaluate soil organic matter storage and dynamics. Pages 421- 448 in M.R. Carter and B.A. Stewart, editors. Structure and organic matter storage in agricultural soils. CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
Santos, G.A. e Camargo, F.A.O. 2008. Fundamentos da matéria orgânica do solo: ecossistemas tropicais and subtropicais. Porto Alegre: Genesis. 508p.
Shaffer, M.J., Ma, L. and Hansen S. 2001. Modeling carbon and nitrogen dynamics for soil management. Boca Raton: Lewis Publishers. 631p.
Soetaert, K; Herman, P.M.J. 2009. A Practical Guide to Ecological Modelling: using R as a simulation platform. Springer: Yerseke. 367p.
Vohnout, K.D. 2003. Mathematical modeling for system analysis in agricultural research. New York: Elsevier. 437p.