Modelling nutrient acquisition from the sub-soil for different crops with specific consideration of bio-pores (NutrAcMod)

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The importance of nutrient supply from the sub-soil for crop growth is not well understood and may vary depending on bio-pores, nutrient turnover rates and the crop specific root systems. Simulation modelling provides a means to consider the complexity of the processes involved to describe the nutrient dynamics of the plant-soil system in an integrated way. However, approaches that describe the dynamics of phosphorus and potassium in combination with soil water, soil carbon and nitrogen and specifically consider the sub-soil and the bio-pores herein are scarce. Accordingly, the main objective of SP 10 is to develop a field-scale cropping system model which describes nutrient (emphasis in the 1st phase of the project is on phosphorus) mobilization and nutrient fluxes from the sub-soil to the crops considering soil nutrient pools, the bio-pore system and the crop nutrient demand. A two step approach is followed in which results from controlled experiments on soil cores will be used to develop detailed process models of root development and nutrient acquisition. These are the basis for deriving simplified algorithms to be used in a cropping system model for the field scale. The latter model will be applied to assess, after thorough validation with data from long-term experiments, the contribution of nutrients from the sub-soil and bio-pores to the growth of different crops. The sub-project combines modelling activities with experimental measurements and has a strong integrating role within the collaborative project.