A team of researchers from the Laboratory for Climate and Environmental Sciences (LSCE) and Ying Ping Wang from The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) visited Stefano Manzoni’s research group in Stockholm as part of the CALIPSO project. The three-day meeting, held from April 1-3, 2025, focused on advancing collaborations in soil carbon cycling research, integrating microbial traits into Earth system models, and new theoretical frameworks for elucidating the role of microbial processes for soil organic carbon dynamics.
The agenda featured a mix of presentations, discussions, and a mini-symposium. The first day kicked off with updates on theoretical work on microbial traits, the new soil module for Earth System Modelling under development in CALIPSO, and the so-called metabolic theory of ecology for microbial processes. This was followed by an in-depth session on carbon use efficiency (CUE), microbial growth, respiration data, and the potential role of metabolic theory in carbon modeling.
On the second day, the teams explored eco-evolutionary approaches and their integration into carbon cycle models. A parallel session focused on drought response data and phosphorus cycling. The afternoon discussions revolved around the use of omics data to inform model parameterization, highlighting the potential of cutting-edge molecular techniques in refining carbon cycle predictions.
The final day featured a mini-symposium on soil carbon cycling co-organized by the Bolin Centre for Climate Research, with talks by members of the CALIPSO team and from Stockholm University. Presentations covered topics such as microbial growth rate correlations with soil organic carbon accumulation, plant-soil interactions in the Arctic, and next-generation soil carbon modeling approaches. Discussions emphasized the importance of representing deep carbon processes to improve future climate projections. The program reflects the legacy of renowned scientists from Stockholm University, such as Prof. Svante Arrhenius (who quantified the greenhouse effect already in 1896) and Prof. Bert Bolin (one of the fathers of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), which continues to shape research on carbon cycling in global climate systems.
The meeting concluded with a session on planning the next steps for the CALIPSO project. This successful gathering reinforced the value of international collaboration in advancing our understanding of soil carbon dynamics and its role in the global climate system.