Bayesian calibration as a tool for initialising the carbon pools of dynamic soil models

• Published in: Soil biology & biochemistry Vol. 41; no. 12; pp. 2579 - 2583
• Main Authors: Yeluripati, Jagadeesh B., van Oijen, Marcel, Wattenbach, Martin, Neftel, A., Ammann, A., Parton, W.J., Smith, Pete
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: agricultural history; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; algorithms; Bayesian calibration; Bayesian theory; Biochemistry and biology; Biological and medical sciences; calibration; Chemical, physicochemical, biochemical and biological properties; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Grassland soils; grasslands; Initialization; land management; land use; mathematical models; model initialization; Modelling; Organic matter; Physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology of agricultural and forest soils; simulation models; soil carbon pools; soil organic matter; soil respiration; Soil science; Switzerland; Switzerland; Initialization; Bayesian calibration; Organic matter; Modelling; Grassland soils; Carbon cycle; Bayes estimation; Soil science; Calibration; Dynamic model; Modeling; Grassland soil
• DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2009.08.021
• ISSN: 0038-0717

The most widely applied soil carbon models partition the soil organic carbon into two or more kinetically defined conceptual pools. The initial distribution of soil organic matter between these pools influences the simulations. Like many other soil organic carbon models, the DAYCENT model is initialised by assuming equilibrium at the beginning of the simulation. However, as we show here, the initial distribution of soil organic matter between the different pools has an appreciable influence on simulations, and the appropriate distribution is dependent on the climate and management at the site before the onset of a simulated experiment. If the soil is not in equilibrium, the only way to initialise the model is to simulate the pre-experimental period of the site. Most often, the site history, in terms of land use and land management is often poorly defined at site level, and entirely unknown at regional level. Our objective was to identify a method that can be applied to initialise a model when the soil is not in equilibrium and historic data are not available, and which quantifies the uncertainty associated with initial soil carbon distribution. We demonstrate a method that uses Bayesian calibration by means of the Accept–Reject algorithm, and use this method to calibrate the initial distribution of soil organic carbon pools against observed soil respiration measurements. It was shown that, even in short-term simulations, model initialisation can have a major influence on the simulated results. The Bayesian calibration method quantified and reduced the uncertainties in initial carbon distribution.