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The GCTE SOMNET (Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems Soil
Organic Matter Network) is administrated at Rothamsted Research.
Soil organic matter (SOM) plays a central role in nutrient (N,
P, S, K) availability, soil stability and the flux of trace
greenhouse gases between land surface and the atmosphere. It
represents a major pool of carbon within the biosphere,
estimated at about 1400-1500 x 1015 g globally, roughly two to
three times that in atmospheric CO2 and acts as both a source
and a sink for carbon and nutrients. To facilitate scientific
progress in predicting the effects on SOM of changes in
land-use, agricultural practice and climate, the need for a
network of SOM modelers and long-term data holders was
recognized. To fulfill this scientific need, the global Soil
Organic Matter Network (SOMNET) was established during 1995
under one-year's funding as a Special Topic of NERC's TIGER
program.
Website: "http://www.rothamsted.bbsrc.ac.uk/aen/somnet/index.htm"
[Summary provided by Rothamsted Research, Global Change and
Terrestrial Ecosystems Soil Organic Matter Network.]
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