Project Details
Projekt
Coordination Funds
Applicant
Professor Dr. Sören Thiele-Bruhn
Subject Area
Soil Sciences
Term
since 2021
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 465120347
It is undisputed that the principles and parameters of thermodynamics are fundamental to ecology and soil ecology. Current research on SOM turnover increasingly considers energetics in modelling to explain and predict biotic carbon turnover and soil functions. The work in SoilSystems is part of current international research activities. Studies on calorimetric and thermodynamic state variables are constantly increasing and have so far concentrated on the characterisation of SOM, SOM turnover and the contribution of soil biota. In the SPP, substrate-dependent utilisation efficiencies and factors of bioenergetic control have been elucidated. Despite this international research, many fundamental questions remain unanswered or have been newly developed and some published statements are contradictory. It is therefore essential to continue the SPP 2322, building on the results of the 1st phase and the methodological and theoretical expertise gained. The coordination project of the SPP 2223 provides the scientific and organisational framework for research projects in the SPP by organising interdisciplinary collaboration, data collection, synthesis and modelling. This is the responsibility of a coordination group supported by an associate who A) supports the organisation of SPP 2322 and B) works scientifically. A) In order to ensure optimal cooperative research in SPP 2322, all participating projects are addressed by the central organisation in the coordination project. Soils and calorimeters are provided via a common experimental platform. A database system has been set up for joint data storage, the use of which by the projects is supported in terms of personnel. Project meetings, workshops and a webinar series invite discussion and presentation. Last but not least, equal opportunities measures enable unrestricted participation in research and academic career development. B) The research module in the coordination project has two basic objectives: (i) the determination of the energetic properties of soils, i.e. complex molecules such as SOM embedded in a reactive mineral medium. This requires at the same time the adaptation and determination of the comparability of calorimetric methods in the investigation of soils as a central research task for the SPP. (ii) The integration and synthesis of the data from the (core) experiments of the 1st phase along the data space axes of soils, substrates and boundary conditions requires their combination in a modelling data space. The data must be fully statistically evaluated and parameterised for a harmonised description in accordance with the thermodynamic state variables. The research-based data merging is driven by a three-person group for data management, synthesis and machine learning modelling (Mercator Fellow).
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
