@article{fdi:010078072,
  title = {{S}oil aggregation, ecosystem engineers and the {C} cycle},
  author = {{L}avelle, {P}. and {S}pain, {A}. and {F}onte, {S}. and {B}edano, {J}. {C}. and {B}lanchart, {E}ric and {G}alindo, {V}. and {G}rimaldi, {M}ichel and {J}imenez, {J}. {J}. and {V}elasquez, {E}. and {Z}angerle, {A}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{S}oil aggregation and its effects on soil {C} storage have been addressed in thousands of research articles over the last 40 years. {R}esearch has been mostly focused on the resistance of aggregates to mechanical disruption and the role of organic matter in aggregate stabilization. {O}n the other hand, relatively little attention has been paid to identifying the microbial, plant root and macro-invertebrate actors and physical processes that continuously create and destroy aggregates. {T}he sum and dynamics of these processes determines the ability of soils to store and conserve {C}. {U}nderstanding the interactions between aggregation dynamics and {C} transformations in soils therefore requires a precise identification of the agents that produce aggregates and knowledge of the rates of formation and persistence in the pools thus identified. {W}e propose to separate macro-aggregated components of different, physicogenic and biogenic origins from non-macro-aggregated soil on a morphological basis, using a simple visual technique. {T}he specific biological or physico-chemical agent which produced each individual macro-aggregate can then be determined using {N}ear {I}nfrared {S}pectroscopy ({NIRS}). {A} general description of the distribution and quality of organic matter among the different groups of macro-aggregates can be made. {S}imple soil re-aggregation or dis-aggregation tests conducted in field conditions further measure the production of different macro-aggregates with time and their mean residence times in the studied soil. {R}espirometry measurements on each recognized category of macro-aggregates evaluate the respective {C} losses through respiration. {T}he methods described here will allow the dominant pathways of {C} flow at a given site to be characterized and possible management options to increase {C} storage identified. {W}e finally discuss the different assumptions made to build this simple model and offer ways to test the methodology under field conditions.},
  keywords = {{S}oil aggregation ; {S}oil organisms ; {C} cycling},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{A}cta {O}ecologica : {I}nternational {J}ournal of {E}cology},
  volume = {105},
  numero = {},
  pages = {103561 [12 ]},
  ISSN = {1146-609{X}},
  year = {2020},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.actao.2020.103561},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010078072},
}