2019-08-15 brainstorming

[bpbond]

What should we do next?

Individual goals and interests based on TES work--what's exciting you?

• Vanessa: are the C cycle drivers (respiration) different lab vs field conditions? E.g. is biogeochemical coupling the main driver in lab but exudates more important in the field?
• Ben: what can we learn from inconsistencies, specifically across different approaches and spatial scales? For example, lab results versus data synthesis--can differences tell us about residence time, acclimation, stress?
• Jianqiu: what is the linkage among biogeochemical processes we know at different spatial scales? How can they be linked? Organic matter-water-mineral interfaces could be key. E.g. start from fancy single-molecule instrument; are larger-scale dynamics just the sum of these small ones, or something different? (I.e. emergent property.)
• Kaizad: how do different stresses compare within a single soil for C destabilization? E.g. drought AND freeze-thaw AND disruption, what's most important? (V adds: resilience? B adds: interacting disturbances) Did last winter's crazy conditions change the following summer's rewetting characteristics?
• Jinshi: how can we better understand soil C response to soil moisture using data synthesis, modeling, and field experiments? E.g. precipitation as surrogate for water content; can we then use Jianqiu's model insights, along with ancillary soil information, to understand mechanisms in addition to statistics?
• Sarah: we use DI water; start thinking about Ec and what's in the water in field water...these are very different things. How representative of real conditions are our lab experiments? Could we do an uncertainty analysis in this regard...which features in a simulated water are most important to get right?
• Cooper: how accurate are bgc experiments in lab and field experiments? How can we calculate stdevs for the conditions between the two methods? Interesting and kind of scary to think about!

Kaizad throws stuff in for the record:

• sampling in exotic locations (Hawaii, Antarctica)

• all different soil orders - WHONDRS-type cross-continent sampling

• Alexey - (standard self-deprecating disclaimer) parallel to FoRTE paper - change process representations versus change parameters. Could write a paper that does this for soils for example

• Vanessa - would love to take lab experiment and run in field until identical conditions; stable isotopes? Comparable to 15N dilution? Overnight N mineralization etc. rates, could do overnight 13C labeling

• Ben - there are field analogues you could do, not too expensive. What about top-down versus bottom-up Birch effect measurement in field and lab?

• Kaizad - a river with daily flood and recede? E.g. Secret River or Beaver Creek?

• Jianqiu - what about priming? I did a rainfall experiment for my Ph.D. Soils won't get really dry in the field though

• Sarah - drought and rewetting; could you prevent a tidal inundation in the field?

• Vanessa - install a tile drain somewhere; put a core in with a drain under? Control (somewhat) hydraulic conductivity from below

• High-quality lab experiments paralleled in lightweight, innovative field experiments. <--- selling point?

• The field component is crucial 'realism' link between lab and data synthesis?

Open brainstorming

• Ben: could have a round of 'individual' experiments and analyses, followed by a collaboratively-focused round
• E.g. Jianqiu (bridge) and Jinshi talking about soil moisture and coupling
• E.g. Jianqiu (nexus) and Kaizad
• Alexey 🔔 - think of Hector example - what could we bring to a global-scale model like this, beyond base respiration rate and simple Q10? What could we draw from our smaller-scale work?
• Ben - keep in mind database upgrades - including new COSORE (continuous) database
• Vanessa - how can high-level analyses inform future experiments? Concept of proxies
• Jianqiu - fine-scale experiments can generate relationship, then test using larger databases
• E.g. the separation in clay lines in her presentation
• Preferential flow paths in soil, especially wrt human impacts (post-fire soils?)
• Alexey - note ecological forecasting! A renewal could tie experiments with forecasting push
• (forecasting doesn't have to be forward in time...could be in space)
• Vanessa - thinks we have to think bigger than carbon; coupled with other elements? (DOE: "we've spent 26 years funding C...now it's not cool") E.g. will P be next big element? Can be tracked via ATP...no gaseous phase so strong coastal tie via runoff
• Jianqiu: NGEE-Tropics does a lot of P work though. P is important in microbes, involved in charged lipids that promote e.g. bacterial uptake. How will microbes have different strategies in different systems?
• Managed systems would be important here, probably working with conceptual models
• Jianqiu - How much do we care about decomposition? (Plants matter!) Problem is research scope, don't have a strong plant scientist on team, Pett-Ridge and Firestone work vs. DIRT findings
• Sarah - could we program 2H to track whatever is happening in the field? (Yes!)

What makes sense for TES? Next proposal will start being assembled this fall

Next experiments and analyses and future field trips

• Sometime in the next year, experiment we all have ownership of

[jianqiuz]

Can I post ...testing

[kaizadp]

Reciprocal core transplants between inundation/non-inundation areas?

Sarah - drought and rewetting; could you prevent a tidal inundation in the field?

[bpbond]

After 2019-11-27 call: see https://www.earth-syst-sci-data-discuss.net/essd-2019-184/#discussion for good text about strengths and weaknesses of incubations