Soil Organic Matter Research: Brand New Century, Same Old Questions?.

Forest soil organic matter dynamics have been a topic of interest to researchers for well over a century. Forest soil organic matter (SOM) research has evolved with scientific and societal perspectives, ranging from the chemical nature of SOM, to its role in soil physical properties and sustaining forest production, and more recently as a major storehouse of terrestrial carbon (in the context of a changing climate). As research on SOM proliferates there is sometimes a perception that we are asking the same questions repeatedly, and perhaps failing to learn from previous research. This is clearly true in some cases, but in others the same old questions can lead to new perspectives when addressed with new technologies and approaches. Increasingly complex studies using recent lab and analytical techniques have enabled deeper understandings of residence time, vulnerability, and chemical characteristics of SOM. Additionally, increasing demand from funding agencies for cross-discipline research has fostered greater reliance on collaborative teams containing a wider range of skill sets and capabilities, often leading to a more holistic understanding of SOM dynamics.  Finally, the transition of data and metadata storage from old, musty notebooks to personal computers, and more recently to online and georeferenced databases has begun to provide the research community with ever greater opportunities to consider wide spatial distribution and dynamics of SOM. Looking forward, it appears that these trends will intensify rather than abate, meaning that we’re unlikely to stop asking the same old questions, but very likely to keep getting new answers.