Title: Symposium--Climate Change Impacts on Soil Carbon: Understanding and Estimating the Extent and Rates of Reactions, Processes, Interactions and Feedbacks

Session Description: Climate change projected to occur this century [i.e., high atmospheric CO₂ concentrations (of 400 ppm or greater); increasing air temperatures (2-4 ⁰C or greater); intensive rainfall and/or heavy storms; extended periods of drought; extreme frost; significant changes in the daily, seasonal and inter-annual temperature cycles; heat-waves and increased fire frequency] will significantly impact soils, and crop productivity, food security, water supplies and environmental quality.   Climate change impacts are already being felt in agriculture, ecosystems, and forests and are expected to be as diverse as the landscape itself.  Soil responses to climate change are expected to be multifaceted and complex because of: i.) the presence of an intricate network of sequential and/or simultaneous (often, time-dependent) chemical, biological and hydrological reactions and processes involving nutrients and potential contaminants distributed in the soil solid, aqueous and gaseous phases, and ii.) the scale-dependent effects of the solid phase mineralogical, physical and chemical heterogeneous domains occurring within the soil matrix. 

Objective:  The objective of the session is to address some of the most challenging scientific issues related to climate change effects on soil and terrestrial ecosystems and delineate future needs in this important and rapidly expanding area of research.

Reviewer's Comments: