Modelling the continuous exchange of carbon between living organisms, the soil and the atmosphere
2016
Ibrahim, Hatem | Pansu, Marc | Blavet, Didier | Hatira, Abdessatar | McDonald, Patricia | Bernoux, Martial | Drevon, Jean-Jacques
AIMS: This study evaluated a framework for modelling the continuous exchange of carbon (C) between the atmosphere, plants, humus, and microorganisms, proposing a plant C model coupled to MOMOS, an existing microbial C model. METHODS: C data were collected on low fertility cereal-legume cropping systems. Plant C and microbial C were modelled simultaneously and the growth parameters of plants and nitrogen-fixing microorganisms were fitted to the data. RESULTS: All C exchanges were successfully predicted using the same weather correction for plant and microbial processes. Most of the photosynthetic production was allocated to the roots, reducing yields. The C losses were found modelled mainly by root respiration for cereals, probably as an energy source for nutrient explorings, and by root mortality for legumes as a growth source for decomposers and symbiotic nodules. The effect of root-nodule activity on shoot growth was found non-linear. The system was modelled as a sink of 4.2 Mg C ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ in the soil’s labile C reserve. CONCLUSIONS: This paper coordinates theoretical bases for modelling the processes regulating plant productivity associated with plant C losses. The tool appears to be robust and is now available for calculating the essential parameters of agro-ecology and climate change.
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