3 November 2026 | 13:00 - 14:00
Katharina Meurer (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) will give this seminar, organized by the ELI-E department.
Extreme weather conditions, such as severe droughts, are expected to become more frequent in a future climate. Water availability controls crop growth, which in turn has a direct and indirect effects on flows of energy, water, carbon, and nutrients in the soil-plant system. Soil-crop models are potentially useful tools to support analyses of the effects of both climate and soil management practices on crop production and the environment. However, the effects of structure dynamics on different soil functions (e.g., hydrology, carbon cycling) at longer time scales are often not considered.
The aim of this presentation is to present the USSF model that accounts for the interactions between soil structure dynamics, carbon cycling, soil physical and hydraulic properties, soil water balance and crop growth. The importance of soil structure dynamics is illustrated by long-term simulations of soil organic matter storage, soil water balance components and crop yields for a field site in central Sweden under climate change and contrasting management practices (organic amendments and crop varieties with an enhanced allocation of carbon to roots).