Quantitative models for pedogenesis — A review

Minasny, Budiman; McBratney, Alex B.; Salvador‐Blanes, Sébastien

doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2007.12.013

Cited by 166 publications

(108 citation statements)

References 78 publications

(105 reference statements)

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“…Some holes in our understanding are obvious. For example, many numerical models are available to simulate chemical weathering and erosion (Lichtner, 1988;Lebedeva et al, 2007;Minasny et al, 2008;Maher et al, 2009) but most only model trees indirectly by incorporating the assumption that trees can reduce the water flow through the soil through evapotranspiration. Where the impact of trees or biota has been incorporated into models of weathering or landscape development, the models typically focus on one aspect of trees' impact (Gabet and Mudd, 2010;Roering et al, 2010;Corenblit et al, 2011;Reinhardt et al, 2011;Godderis and Brantley, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reviews and syntheses: on the roles trees play in building and plumbing the critical zone

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Trees, the most successful biological power plants on earth, build and plumb the critical zone (CZ) in ways that we do not yet understand. To encourage exploration of the character and implications of interactions between trees and soil in the CZ, we propose nine hypotheses that can be tested at diverse settings. The hypotheses are roughly divided into those about the architecture (building) and those about the water (plumbing) in the CZ, but the two functions are intertwined. Depending upon one's disciplinary background, many of the nine hypotheses listed below may appear obviously true or obviously false. (1) Tree roots can only physically penetrate and biogeochemically comminute the immobile substrate underlying mobile soil where that underlying substrate is fractured or pre-weathered. (2) In settings where the thickness of weathered material, H , is large, trees primarily shape the CZ through biogeochemical reactions within the rooting zone. (3) In forested uplands, the thickness of mobile soil, h, can evolve toward a steady state because of feedbacks related to root disruption and tree throw. (4) In settings where h H and the rates of uplift and erosion are low, the uptake of phosphorus into trees is buffered by the fine-grained fraction of the soil, and the ultimate source of this phosphorus is dust. (5) In settings of limited water availability, trees maintain the highest length density of functional roots at depths where water can be extracted over most of the growing season with the least amount of energy expenditure. (6) Trees grow the majority of their roots in the zone where the most growth-limiting resource is abundant, but they also grow roots at other depths to forage for other resources and to hydraulically redistribute those resources to depths where they can be taken up more efficiently. (7) Trees rely on matrix water in the unsaturated zone that at times may have anPublished by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 5116 S. L. Brantley et al.: Reviews and syntheses: on the roles trees play in building and plumbing the critical zone isotopic composition distinct from the gravity-drained water that transits from the hillslope to groundwater and streamflow. (8) Mycorrhizal fungi can use matrix water directly, but trees can only use this water by accessing it indirectly through the fungi. (9) Even trees growing well above the valley floor of a catchment can directly affect stream chemistry where changes in permeability near the rooting zone promote intermittent zones of water saturation and downslope flow of water to the stream. By testing these nine hypotheses, we will generate important new cross-disciplinary insights that advance CZ science.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reviews and syntheses: on the roles trees play in building and plumbing the critical zone

et al. 2017

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“…The critical zone, defined as the Earth surface system extending from the top of vegetation down to and including groundwater, sustains and enables life on the planet (NRC, 2001). The importance of coupled water-energy-carbon dynamics to understanding critical zone function is well recognized across Earth science disciplines (Berry et al, 2005;Brantley et al, 2011;Minasny et al, 2008;Schimel et al, 1997). Recent work suggests that quantifying the energetic transfer associated water, energy and carbon transfers to the critical zone in the form of effective precipitation and primary production provides a first order approximation of critical zone process and structural organization (Rasmussen et al, 2011b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermodynamic constraints on effective energy and mass transfer and catchment function

Rasmussen

2012

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Understanding how water, energy and carbon are partitioned to primary production and effective precipitation is central to quantifying the limits on critical zone evolution. Recent work suggests quantifying energetic transfers to the critical zone in the form of effective precipitation and primary production provides a first order approximation of critical zone process and structural organization. However, explicit linkage of this effective energy and mass transfer (EEMT; W m −2 ) to critical zone state variables and well defined physical limits remains to be developed. The objective of this work was to place EEMT in the context of thermodynamic state variables of temperature and vapor pressure deficit, with explicit definition of EEMT physical limits using a global climate dataset. The relation of EEMT to empirical measures of catchment function was also examined using a subset of the Model Parameter Estimation Experiment (MOPEX) catchments. The data demonstrated three physical limits for EEMT: (i) an absolute vapor pressure deficit threshold of 1200 Pa above which EEMT is zero; (ii) a temperature dependent vapor pressure deficit limit following the saturated vapor pressure function up to a temperature of 292 K; and (iii) a minimum precipitation threshold required from EEMT production at temperatures greater than 292 K. Within these limits, EEMT scales directly with precipitation, with increasing conversion of the precipitation to EEMT with increasing temperature. The state-space framework derived here presents a simplified framework with well-defined physical limits that has the potential for directly integrating regional to pedon scale heterogeneity in effective energy and mass transfer relative to critical zone structure and function within a common thermodynamic framework.

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“…The EEMT framework was developed based on a rich history in the soil science literature from the initial conceptualization and semi-quantitative approaches used to describe and define soil forming factors (Dokuchaev, 1967;Jenny, 1941;Runge, 1973;Smeck et al, 1983) to later work that formalized these factors into quantitative energy terms (Volobuyev, 1964), and revisited in more recent work (Minasny et al, 2008;Phillips, 2009;Rasmussen, 2012;Rasmussen et al, 2005Rasmussen et al, , 2011Rasmussen and Tabor, 2007). This framework quantifies the drivers of critical zone evolution as the summation of energy and mass fluxes associated with soil and critical zone development, wherein development refers to chemical alteration, structure formation, and the layering, zonation, and organization of the weathered regolith.…”

Section: Effective Energy and Mass Transfermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This framework quantifies the drivers of critical zone evolution as the summation of energy and mass fluxes associated with soil and critical zone development, wherein development refers to chemical alteration, structure formation, and the layering, zonation, and organization of the weathered regolith. The summation of these fluxes as stated by Volobuyev (1964) and revisited by Minasny et al (2008) …”

Section: Effective Energy and Mass Transfermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The E ET term by far represents the largest component of E Total and is typically several orders of magnitude greater than the sum of the remaining energy and mass flux terms (Minasny et al, 2008). However, given that E ET represents the transfer of water and radiant energy back to the atmosphere, it has limited potential for performing chemical or physical work on the subsurface.…”

Section: Effective Energy and Mass Transfermentioning

confidence: 99%

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Technical Note: A comparison of model and empirical measures of catchment-scale effective energy and mass transfer

Rasmussen

Gallo

2013

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Recent work suggests that a coupled effective energy and mass transfer (EEMT) term, which includes the energy associated with effective precipitation and primary production, may serve as a robust prediction parameter of critical zone structure and function. However, the models used to estimate EEMT have been solely based on long-term climatological data with little validation using direct empirical measures of energy, water, and carbon balances. Here we compare catchment-scale EEMT estimates generated using two distinct approaches: (1) EEMT modeled using the established methodology based on estimates of monthly effective precipitation and net primary production derived from climatological data, and (2) empirical catchment-scale EEMT estimated using data from 86 catchments of the Model Parameter Estimation Experiment (MOPEX) and MOD17A3 annual net primary production (NPP) product derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Results indicated positive and significant linear correspondence (R 2 = 0.75; P < 0.001) between model and empirical measures with an average root mean square error (RMSE) of 4.86 MJ m −2 yr −1 . Modeled EEMT values were consistently greater than empirical measures of EEMT. Empirical catchment estimates of the energy associated with effective precipitation (E PPT ) were calculated using a mass balance approach that accounts for water losses to quick surface runoff not accounted for in the climatologically modeled E PPT . Similarly, local controls on primary production such as solar radiation and nutrient limitation were not explicitly included in the climatologically based estimates of energy associated with primary production (E BIO ), whereas these were captured in the remotely sensed MODIS NPP data. These differences likely explain the greater estimate of modeled EEMT relative to the empirical measures. There was significant positive correlation between catchment aridity and the fraction of EEMT partitioned into E BIO (F BIO ), with an increase in F BIO as a fraction of the total as aridity increases and percentage of catchment woody plant cover decreases. In summary, the data indicated strong correspondence between model and empirical measures of EEMT with limited bias that agree well with other empirical measures of catchment energy and water partitioning and plant cover.

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Quantitative models for pedogenesis — A review

Cited by 166 publications

References 78 publications

Reviews and syntheses: on the roles trees play in building and plumbing the critical zone

Reviews and syntheses: on the roles trees play in building and plumbing the critical zone

Thermodynamic constraints on effective energy and mass transfer and catchment function

Technical Note: A comparison of model and empirical measures of catchment-scale effective energy and mass transfer

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