Application of Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy for parameterisation of soil carbon turnover models on a regional scale

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Changing climatic conditions and linked land use changes are expected to alter carbon dynamics in the soil and hence the role of soil carbon as a sink or source for atmospheric carbon dioxide. Environmental factors, such as soil temperature, play an important role in soil carbon dynamics including several feedback mechanisms. The understanding and modelling of these feedback mechanisms at regional scale is challenging, due to large spatial heterogeneity of soil and plant production systems. In addition, physical-chemical determination and characterisation of soil organic carbon pools to parameterise soil models is costly and time consuming and thus unsuitable for large numbers of samples required at regional scale. Hence, the current study will develop new methods to parameterise soil organic carbon dynamics models at regional scale. An innovative approach will be the determination and characterisation of soil carbon pools using mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIRS) coupled with thermo-analysis (TGA/DTA-DSC). Apart from estimating the size of soil carbon pools, their decomposition rates will be assessed, facilitating prediction of soil C dynamics at regional scale. A validated soil carbon model will, in conjunction with Expert-N modelling software and a coupled high resolution atmosphere climate model, facilitate prediction of soil C dynamics under changing climatic conditions in Southwest Germany.