Soil Structure and Transport Processes Across Scales.

This talk addresses three key concepts (structure, transport, and scale) and how they relate to each other.  Each of the three concepts has been investigated individually.  Likewise, some studies have investigated two of these together, e.g., transport processes at different scales.  But few or no studies have simultaneously investigated all three aspects, structure, transport, and scale.  Fate and transport of chemicals in soils is complex, involving coupled biological, chemical, and physical processes.  Soils are dynamic, and soil structure varies across spatial and temporal scales.  The complexity of soil presents us with many challenges, with obvious needs and (perhaps less obvious) opportunities for advancements in measurements and in theory.  This presentation will review selected published works, examine why better integrated studies are needed, and consider possible avenues for future studies.