IUSS Conference on Soil Functions and Climate Change

This International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) conference, which is organized under the auspices of the International Year of Soils 2015 and the 350th Anniversary of the Christian Albrechts University, will address the broad question: 'Do we underestimate the consequences of new disequilibria in soil properties?'. Titled SUSTAIN, the conference aims to increase understanding of how interactions among physical, chemical and biological soil processes under different land-use systems and climate conditions will alter soil properties. One of the goals of the conference is to define "the boundary conditions for reliable predictions in a changing environment," by exploring prediction model input parameters that can enable a reliable analysis of soil and environmental properties and functions. Specific topics to be covered include: soil structure and pore rigidity effects as prerequisites for quantification of physico-chemical processes; effects of pore rigidity and soil resilience on physical, chemical and biological soil properties and functions; feedback mechanisms between soil structure formation and plant growth, groundwater and atmosphere; and innovative modeling approaches to predict how climate change affects sinks and sources of atmospheric carbon.