Articles | Volume 11, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-11-715-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-11-715-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Original research article
| 
01 Oct 2025
Original research article |
| 01 Oct 2025
| 01 Oct 2025
A simple model of the turnover of organic carbon in a soil profile: model test, parameter identification and sensitivity
Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Lennart Hjelms väg 9, 756 51 Uppsala, Sweden
Anke Marianne Herrmann
Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Lennart Hjelms väg 9, 756 51 Uppsala, Sweden
Nicholas Jarvis
Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Lennart Hjelms väg 9, 756 51 Uppsala, Sweden
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Short summary
Simulation models can be used to evaluate changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in agricultural soils that are important to soil health and climate change mitigation. We describe a simple model that considers SOC turnover in a soil profile regulated by two processes: physical protection due to aggregation and microbial energy limitation. It accurately reproduces trends in SOC in plots receiving different OC inputs and matches survey data on SOC in the soil profile in one region of Sweden.
Simulation models can be used to evaluate changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in...
Special issue