Theme 2 “Soil/plant Interactions and biogeochemical coupling” sets out to identify and understand the abiotic and biological mechanisms involved in the coupling and closing of nutrients biogeochemical cycles at different scales (from the soil profile to the field).
Challenges
The project has three sub-subjects, each characterised by some research questions:
- 1 :
- Coupling and closing the nutrients cycles and interaction with carbon and water
- Does the coupling of nutrients cycles (CNP) at field or smaller scale allows a better recycling/uptake efficiency for nutrients and water?
- What is the contribution of spatial, temporal and functional heterogeneity in multi-specific agroecosystems to the plants resource sharing and nutrients uptake efficiency?
- 2 :
- Role of roots-soil interactions of top and deep soil horizons in nutrients cycling
- What is the contribution of deep soil horizons to carbon storage and to plant nutrition?
- What are the trade-offs between carbon storage and mineral nutrition for plants?
- What are the specificities of deep roots compared to superficial roots (quantity, turnover, physiology) in relation to the environment and plants genetic variability?
- 3 :
- Mechanistic modelling of nutrients cycles coupling, carbon and water
- Modelling nutrients cycling in the plant and the soil: which arte the impacts on carbon and water cycles?
- Modelling nutrients supply from fertilization: what are the effects on ecosystem functioning (plant and soil)?
- Which are the gains in carbon decomposition/stabilisation models if we include P and N cycles and their short and long-terms drivers?
Projects
Team leaders
Chiara Pistocchi & Thierry Becquer