Modeling soil organic matter dynamics as affected by soil water erosion

Soil organic carbon (SOC) stock is an important component of the global carbon (C) cycle, which has the potential to influence global climate. In this paper we presented an overview of soil organic matter (SOM) models in the context of soil erosion and discussed basic processes driving erosion-induced SOC loss. Although the mechanism of this loss is poorly understood, erosion influences SOC in two ways: redistribution of C within the watershed or ecosystem, and loss of C to the atmosphere. Erosion disperses soil, altering its microbiological activity as well as water, air and nutrient regimes. This, along with sediment enrichment, has an impact on greenhouse gas emission from soil. For most of agricultural settings, field studies suggest that cultivation along with soil erosion are the primary reasons for SOC loss. Tracing the fate of eroded C is a challenging task. Modeling is the approach taken most often. In this paper we discuss approaches used in various SOC models to assess erosion-induced C loss from soil in agricultural ecosystems. An example with Century model applied to meadow and corn-soybean rotation under chisel-till demonstrated the model's ability to respond well to different erosion scenarios. It was estimated that at soil loss rate of 10 t ha(-1) year(-1) (value often considered a threshold for maintaining productivity) 19% of the total SOC loss would be attributed to erosion after 90 years of cultivation.