ManzoniLab

Spatial Control of Microbial Pesticide Degradation in Soil: A Model-Based Scenario Analysis Microbial pesticide degraders are heterogeneously distributed in soil. Their spatial aggregation at the millimeter scale reduces the frequency of degrader–pesticide encounter and can introduce transpo...

Finally, a look at spatial heterogeneities using scale transition theory--if microbes are far from their substrate, decomposition rates slow down (case study on pesticide degradation): doi.org/10.1021/acs....

When and why microbial-explicit soil organic carbon models can be unstable Abstract. Microbial-explicit soil organic carbon (SOC) cycling models are increasingly being recognized for their advantages over linear models in describing SOC dynamics. These models are known to ex...

While applying eco-evolutionary optimization, Erik also found that positive feedbacks in microbial models can cause microbial extinction. You can check if your model fulfills mathematical criteria for stable behavior here: doi.org/10.5194/bg-2...

Eco‐Evolutionary Optimality in Soil Organic Matter Models Optimization approaches based on fundamental eco-evolutionary principles (EEO approaches) can increase the realism and generality of microbial-explicit soil organic matter (SOM) models—yet, these app....

In his thesis, Erik studied how eco-evolutionary processes can be included in soil carbon cycling models, and how microbial interactions modulate such processes. For a synthesis of current approaches including theory and pedagogic examples: doi.org/10.1111/ele....

Happy to post the news that @erikschwarz.bsky.social has successfully defended his PhD thesis “Microbial ecology in soil carbon models". Opponent: Sergey Blagodatsky; evaluators: Nadja Ray, Katharina Meurer, Jan Bengtsson. Congratulations Dr. Schwarz! 🎉🎊 (photo by Abigail Robinson)

Main conclusion: "Our analysis shows no trade-off between functionally rich rotations and food production or agricultural land expansion." Study led by Giulia Vico and her team at SLU, using >34,500 yield observations from 16 long-term experiments across Europe

Functionally rich crop rotations increase calorie and macronutrient outputs across Europe - Nature Food While the benefits of crop diversity are known, doubts remain as to whether replacing cereals in rotations reduces nutrient production. A comparison of 16 long-term field experiments across Europe sho...

Crop rotations have been around for 1000s of years--great for sustainability and climate adaptation, but can they deliver all the food we need? In short, yes! and even more calories, proteins and fats than cereal monocultures: www.nature.com/articles/s43...

EGU WEBINARS: Mental Health in Academia: Obstacles, Advocacy and Inclusion YouTube video by European Geosciences Union

The @egubg.bsky.social Early Career Scientists team invited me to share my thoughts about #AcademicMentalHealth and what to do about the ongoing crisis. Some folks wonder: I am an Earth System scientist, why do I keep talking about mental health?
@egu.eu
m.youtube.com/watch?v=KYea...

Share your comments on NCAR with NSF Tell NSF the future that you want for NCAR by 13 March

One month left to submit a comment to NSF about their threat to dismantle NCAR. AGU has a great tool, below. This was easy to do and you can help flood the NSF inbox with messages about how important is it to keep NCAR together!

agu.quorum.us/campaign/154...

Discrepancies between observations and models highlight how to improve predictions - Nature Ecology & Evolution Integrating observational datasets and model simulations of soil organic carbon reveals not only that growth rate outperforms carbon use efficiency as a microbial predictor, but also that models under...

Also thanks to @luizdomeignoz.bsky.social for placing our work in a broader context in his commentary: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Home Carbon Loss In Plants, Soils and Oceans

Thanks Xianjin He for leading this work within the calipsovesri.org project. Contributions by @rebeccamayvarney.bsky.social @erikschwarz.bsky.social @ultracricket.bsky.social @elsa-abs.bsky.social and others @lsce-ipsl.bsky.social and all over the 🌏

Microbial growth rate is a stronger predictor of soil organic carbon than carbon use efficiency - Nature Ecology & Evolution Microbial carbon use efficiency is a strong predictor of soil organic carbon stocks. Here the authors reveal that the microbial growth rate is a more reliable and informative predictor, and that model...

Soil microbes grow, respire, die. Because their biomass eventually becomes necromass, and necromass can be stabilized in soil, growth rate emerges as a powerful predictor of soil carbon: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

If your research questions long-standing paradigms in Earth Science, there are a few days left to submit an abstract to our #EGU26 session www.egu26.eu/session/57516 (conveners: Ilona Riipinen, Claire Ansberque, @elsa-abs.bsky.social,
@manzonilab.bsky.social)

Happy New Year! 🎉

Just a quick reminder about our EGU26 session on eco-evolutionary drivers of biogeochemistry — we’d love to see your abstracts!

⏰ Deadline: Jan 15

Co-organizers: Elisa Bruni, @manzonilab.bsky.social, @bopplaurent.bsky.social, Colin Prentice

Eco‐Evolutionary Optimality in Soil Organic Matter Models Optimization approaches based on fundamental eco-evolutionary principles (EEO approaches) can increase the realism and generality of microbial-explicit soil organic matter (SOM) models—yet, these app....

A great (pre-)christmas gift: our synthesis paper in Ecology Letters just got published! 😊
Thanks, @elsa-abs.bsky.social, @arjunchakrawal.bsky.social, @lucianachr.bsky.social, Pierre Quévreux, and @manzonilab.bsky.social for the great collaboration!!

Open access article: doi.org/10.1111/ele.70278

📣 EGU26 – Call for abstracts

Session: Functional diversity in motion: Eco-evolutionary drivers of biogeochemical processes across terrestrial & aquatic systems.

🎤 Solicited speakers: Jaideep Joshi & Boris Sauterey
🗓 Deadline: 15 Jan 2026
🔗 meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/sessio...

Conveners: Ilona Riipinen, Claire Ansberque, @elsa-abs.bsky.social, @manzonilab.bsky.social. Invited speakers: Julia Pongratz (new ideas on land use and carbon cycling) and Ulrich Pöschl (new ideas on atmospheric chemistry)

How do scientific ideas evolve and which paradigms in Earth system science deserve a fresh look? We welcome submissions to address these questions in our #EGU26 session “Re-examining Seminal Ideas in Earth System Science” www.egu26.eu/session/57516

We are Hiring! Faculty position available in Modeling in Environmental Systems The Department of Civil, Environmental and Geo- Engineering at the University of Minnesota is seeking applications for a faculty position in the broad area of Modeling in Environmental Systems. The po...

📢Assistant Prof in "Modeling in Environmental Systems" at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geo- Engineering, University of Minnesota: cse.umn.edu/cege/news/we...

Efficiencies are sometimes tricky to interpret. Here we show how the observed increase in efficiency of water use (iWUE) by trees does not necessarily translate into higher tree growth--drier air or drier soil limit growth despite high iWUE. Thanks Quan Zhang for leading this project!

More results in his articles in Soil Biol. Biochem. doi.org/10.1016/j.so..., Global Change Biol. doi.org/10.1111/gcb...., and Biogeosciences doi.org/10.5194/bg-2...

Xiankun's thesis "Understanding Soil Rewetting Respiration Pulses" is here: su.diva-portal.org/smash/record.... It explores what happens when rewetting dry soils: what drives respiration pulses (lab vs. field conditions), how microbial growth recovers, how microbial life history strategies shift

I'm happy & proud to announce that @li-xiankun.bsky.social has successfully defended his PhD thesis last Friday--congratulations Dr. Li! 🎉🎊 Thanks to @albertocanarini.bsky.social (opponent), @edithhammer.bsky.social, @paulkardol.bsky.social, Katharina Keiblinger (examiners) for your feedback!

Better late than never... I only now re-post this paper by Daniela Guasconi @stockholm-uni.bsky.social @bolincentre.bsky.social on microbial communities in a Swedish grassland: summer drought has mild effects, one compost addition can have long-lasting (but small) consequences

HoliSoils Webinar Series - Long-term nitrogen fertilisation enhances tree growth and soil carbon retention in boreal forests - HoliSoils Don’t miss the HoliSoils webinar on 5 December (14:00–15:00 CET) on long-term nitrogen fertilisation, forest productivity, and soil carbon retention in boreal ecosystems.

🌱 How does long-term nitrogen fertilisation affect #forest productivity and #soil carbon?

Join the next session of the #HoliSoils Webinar Series to explore the impacts of sustained nutrient input on boreal forest ecosystems!

📅 5 December 2025 | 14:00–15:00 CET

➡️ holisoils.eu/holisoils-we...

The Stockholm Declaration | sciii-it.org The Stockholm Declaration

... and sign the Declaration here: sciii-it.org/stockholm-de...

Reformation of science publishing: the Stockholm Declaration | Royal Society Open Science Science relies on integrity and trustworthiness. But scientists under career pressure are lured to purchase fake publications from ‘paper mills’ that use AI-generated data, text and image fabrication....

You can read the Stockholm Declaration here: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

When permafrost thaws rapidly

📢3-year research associate "Dynamic carbon cycle modelling" @uni-hamburg.de part of project Rapid Permafrost Thaw Carbon Trajectories (PeTCaT) www.cen.uni-hamburg.de/en/about-cen.... Position details: www.uni-hamburg.de/stellenangeb...

Researchers fight against fake science  - Stockholm University Researchers fight against fake science  Fake studies produced with the help of AI risk damaging the credibility of research while academia must regain control over scientific publishing. This is accor...

Fake studies produced with AI risk damaging the credibility of research while academia must regain control over scientific publishing. Read about the Stockholm Declaration supported by @scienceacademyswe.bsky.social & prominent persons at Sthlm Univ like Ilona Riipinen.
www.su.se/english/news...

Next #job hire: Our own PhD position within #MultiStress to be funded as KAAD scholarship @unituebingen.bsky.social is out: You're East African scholar interested in #maize #root & #rhizosphere traits +their response to #biotic & #abiotic stress? Ready to perform work in #Germany & #Kenya? APPLY NOW

📢#postdoc on “Soil Microbiome” within DFG Priority Program SPP 2322 soilsystems.net. More info: stellenticket.tu-berlin.de/en/job-offer...