Soil scientists can’t possibly be everywhere at once to study every bit of soil across the planet.
Soil scientists can’t possibly be everywhere at once to study every bit of soil across the planet. Plus, soils are constantly changing.
Conditions like weather and land use have a major impact on soil over time. So, to understand everything about soil, we would need to be continuously studying soil around the world. Since this isn’t possible, soil scientists are turning to math to predict what happens at the soil’s surface.
Soil models – just like economic models – are helpful to predict trends and make suggestions. An example might be the impact of climate change on water processes in the soil. Models help fill in the gaps of measured data.
Since soil is a complex environment, a soil model consists of many pieces that represent different processes. One important aspect of soil models – how water interacts with soil at the land surface – was recently discussed by a group of almost 30 scientists. Their work was recently published in Vadose Zone Journal.
Read more at American Society of Agronomy
Image: Soil structure is one of many factors that affects infiltration of water. (Credit: J. Sebastián Silva O.)
