Earth System Science and Environmental Management (ESSEM) Domain
COST Action ES1406
“Soil fauna: key to soil organic matter dynamics
and modelling (KEYSOM)”
*ARAID researcher, Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE‐CSIC) Jaca (Huesca) Spain
COST is supported by theEU Framework Programme Horizon 2020
Juan J. Jiménez* (chair)Juliane Filser** (vice chair)
…and many others
September 2015
** Center forEnvironmental Research andSustainableTechnology
Juliane Filser The Architect Forgot the Engineers ICSZ Coimbra, August 2012 2
The Architect Forgot the Engineers Juliane Filser
Center for Environmental Research and
Sustainable Technology
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ICSZ Coimbra, August 2012
Juliane FilserThe Architect Forgot the Engineers ICSZ
Coimbra, August 2012
Existing Models on SOM Turnover
PF
C
HSSOM
Turnover
Molecular structure
Physical heterogeneity
Humic substances
Fire-derived C
Soil depth
Roots
Permafrost
Soil micro-organisms
Main elements
State‐of‐the‐art(Schmidt et al. 2011)
Soil fauna totally ignored!
ESSEM COST Action ES1406
Let us reconcile…
• In the end of the article, the authors state:
Join forces and connect research communities „(…) There are those studying litter decomposition, with a focus on the biotic breakdown of plant inputs (…)“
So, what can WE do about it?
Interestingly, none of the 46 papers citing this article (by August 8, 2012) focused on soil fauna!
Juliane FilserThe Architect Forgot the Engineers ICSZ
Coimbra, August 2012
ESSEM COST Action ES1406
We challenged them!
Soil fauna: key to soil organic matter dynamics and modelling (KEYSOM)“We argue that explicit consideration of soil animals is essential to make realistic modelling predictions and detect expected non‐linear responses to Global Change.”
ParticipantsJuliane Filser1, Gerlinde De Deyn2, Jack H. Faber3, Lijbert Brussaard2, Juan José Jiménez4, Alexei V. Uvarov5, Matty P. Berg6, Patrick Lavelle7, Michel Loreau8, Alexei V. Tiunov5, Jan Frouz9, Pascal Querner10, Herman Eijsackers11, Diana H. Wall12
(NL, SP, RU, FR, CZ, AT, US)
COST Action ES 1406 (2015-2019)And got together:
Earth System Science and Environmental Management (ESSEM)
The core consortiumCOUNTRY PARTICIPANT
Austria Pascal QUERNER
Czech Republic Jan FROUZ
France Patrick LAVELLE, Michel LOREAU
Germany Juliane FILSER, Frank GLANTE (UBA), Georg GUGGENBERGER*, Reinhard HÜTTL, Ingrid KÖGEL‐KNABNER*, Harry VEREECKEN
Ireland Rachel Creamer
Italy Luca MONTANARELLA (EU com), Sally BUNNING (FAO), Ronald VARGAS (FAO)
Rep. of Moldova Boris BOINCEAN
The Netherlands Matty BERG, Lijbert BRUSSAARD, Gerlinde DE DEYN, Herman EIJSACKERSJack FABER, Peter DE RUITER
Russian Federation Alexei TIUNOV, Alexei UVAROV
Spain Juan J. JIMÉNEZ (Proposer)
United States Diana WALL
* Coauthors of Schmidt et al. (2011)
State‐of‐the‐art Key points Reasons for the ActionUnderstanding and modelling SOM is essential for managingsoil fertility, agricultural productivity and soil ecosystemservices like nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration.
Soil animals are crucial but not sufficiently acknowledged inSOMmodelling.
• Limited communication (linkages) between biogeochemistry,microbiology and soil ecology
• Lack of [awareness of] data on soil animals (both field andlab experiments)
• Soil ecologists: two rather different ways to explainprocesses: “food‐web” vs. “ecosystem egineering”
ESSEM COST Action ES1406
Brussaard,1998
Gonzalez et al. 2001
Examples• Good attempts, BUT
incomplete!• Which parameters should be
considered?
ESSEM COST Action ES1406
belowground
aboveground
direct pathway to plants indirect pathway to plants
Trophic interactionsbelow‐ and aboveground
root feeding fauna
mycorrhiza
pathogens
(Wardle et al. 2004; Osler and Sommerkorn 2007)
food web
‐ Significant effects on nutrient pools and fluxes‐ Integration of biogeochemical and soil food web
models‐ Protists and bacteria‐feeding nematodes
important for N mineralization‐ Enchytraeids and fungal‐feeding micro‐
arthropods important for DOM production
ESSEM COST Action ES1406
Focus: Element fluxes
Non‐trophic interactions: Soil ecosystem engineering
Ecosystem engineers (sensu Jones et al. 1994) © P. Lavelle
© J.J. Jiménez
(Decaëns et al. 2008)
ESSEM COST Action ES1406
Focus: Habitat structure / physical conditions
The «soil foodweb» model vs. «ecosystem engineering»
Sanders et al. 2014 (Oikos)
MicroorganismsMicrofoodweb
Functional domain
Soil profile
Biogenic structures
Meso‐aggregates
Microbial aggregates
Mosaic of functional domains
4
5
3
21
Soil catena
Landscape
How to merge both «visions» into a more comprehensive model?
Scaling up
The “wheels model” (Lavelle et al. 2006)
ESSEM COST Action ES1406
WG 4Dissemination of results from analyses, knowledge management and material for training and stakeholder purposes
WG1Data sharing and information, state‐of‐the‐art and gap analysis of SOM – soil fauna interactions
WG2Review existing global SOM models and analysis of their potentials and limitations for inclusion of soil fauna effects
WG 3Assembling data from the different sites in a meta‐database for further extensive analyses
Working groups and tasks
Activities – 1st Grant Period
• WG leaders distribute tasks between partners and likelyparticipants
• 1st MC meeting in Bruxelles in March 2015• Official start: June 1, 2015• 2nd MC meeting and a joint workshop with all WGs in
Croatia in early October
• Work in progress:Action websiteLiterature ReviewAnnouncement of Short‐Term Scientific Missions (STSM)
Challenges ‐ Example WG 1
Literature Review and Gap Analysis
• Representation of animal groups• Representation of geographical differences• Data
– Laboratory vs. field– Scale
• How to cope with – different methods, foci?– the huge complexity?
• How much detail is needed?
Role for soil drainage in a field in NL
Termites and CH4 production in a semiarid site
Impact of one lab species on CO2 release
Why is this COST Action important?
‐ European Soil Directive was recently withdrawn; a new European mechanism expected?
‐ European soils are in the need at global scale; from Tundra to arable lands, climatic and land use gradients
‐ Timely relevant opportunity for Europe to provide solutions to an alarming land degradation rate (SOM depletion)
‐ Implementing soil fauna effects in SOM models is challenging: COST Action is certainly a convenient and promising approach
Summing up