Over the last 60 years, soil microbiologists have accumulated a wealth of experimental data showing that the bulk, macroscopic parameters (e.g., granulometry, pH, soil organic matter, and biomass contents) commonly used to characterize soils provide insufficient information to describe quantitatively the activity of soil microorganisms and some of its outcomes, like the emission of greenhouse gasses. Clearly, new, more appropriate macroscopic parameters are needed, which reflect better the spatial heterogeneity of soils at the microscale (i.e., the pore scale) that is commensurate with the habitat of many microorganisms. For a long time, spectroscopic and microscopic tools were lacking to quantify processes at that scale, but major technological advances over the last 15 years have made suitable equipment available to researchers. In this context, the objective of the present article is to review progress achieved to date in the significant research program that has ensued. This program can be rationalized as a sequence of steps, namely the quantification and modeling of the physical-, (bio)chemical-, and microbiological properties of soils, the integration of these different perspectives into a unified theory, its upscaling to the macroscopic scale, and, eventually, the development of new approaches to measure macroscopic soil characteristics. At this stage, significant progress has been achieved on the physical front, and to a lesser extent on the (bio)chemical one as well, both in terms of experiments and modeling. With regard to the microbial aspects, although a lot of work has been devoted to the modeling of bacterial and fungal activity in soils at the pore scale, the appropriateness of model assumptions cannot be readily assessed because of the scarcity of relevant experimental data. For significant progress to be made, it is crucial to make sure that research on the microbial components of soil systems does not keep lagging behind the work on the physical and (bio)chemical characteristics. Concerning the subsequent steps in the program, very little integration of the various disciplinary perspectives has occurred so far, and, as a result, researchers have not yet been able to tackle the scaling up to the macroscopic level. Many challenges, some of them daunting, remain on the path ahead. Fortunately, a number of these challenges may be resolved by brand new measuring equipment that will become commercially available in the very near future.

Abstract. In this paper, we present and analyze a novel global database of soil infiltration measurements, the Soil Water Infiltration Global (SWIG) database. In total, 5023 infiltration curves were collected across all continents in the SWIG database. These data were either provided and quality checked by the scientists who performed the experiments or they were digitized from published articles. Data from 54 different countries were included in the database with major contributions from Iran, China, and the USA. In addition to its extensive geographical coverage, the collected infiltration curves cover research from 1976 to late 2017. Basic information on measurement location and method, soil properties, and land use was gathered along with the infiltration data, making the database valuable for the development of pedotransfer functions (PTFs) for estimating soil hydraulic properties, for the evaluation of infiltration measurement methods, and for developing and validating infiltration models. Soil textural information (clay, silt, and sand content) is available for 3842 out of 5023 infiltration measurements (∼ 76%) covering nearly all soil USDA textural classes except for the sandy clay and silt classes. Information on land use is available for 76 % of the experimental sites with agricultural land use as the dominant type (∼ 40%). We are convinced that the SWIG database will allow for a better parameterization of the infiltration process in land surface models and for testing infiltration models. All collected data and related soil characteristics are provided online in *.xlsx and *.csv formats for reference, and we add a disclaimer that the database is for public domain use only and can be copied freely by referencing it. Supplementary data are available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.885492 (Rahmati et al., 2018). Data quality assessment is strongly advised prior to any use of this database. Finally, we would like to encourage scientists to extend and update the SWIG database by uploading new data to it.

Yves Coquet : UMR7327 Present address on sept. 2012International audienceRegular application of composts on cropped soils has been shown to restore soil organic matter contents. The effect of repeated applications of three urban composts on the nitrogen (N) dynamics in a cropped loamy soil was compared to farmyard manure application and a control receiving no amendment. Each amendment application brought on average 250-400 kg ha−1 of total N. After five applications, total organic N increased in amended soils from 9 to 27% compared to control and the increase of soil organic N corresponded to 32-79% of total N brought by the amendments. The PASTIS model was used to describe the N balance in the soil-plant system during the 2 years after a sixth amendment application and provided correct predictions of N dynamics in cropped plots. The N availability increased in all treatments receiving organic amendments. The N availability in the soils amended with urban composts or manure was predominantly driven by the biodegradability of the organic amendments, their mineral N content and by the cropping conditions. Composts with high biodegradability exhibited higher proportion of N recovery by plants (21% for the municipal solid waste compost) during the year following their application, while more stabilised composts (biowaste compost, co-compost of sludge and green wastes) increased the N availability mainly through the increase of soil organic N content and mineralisation after several compost applications (6-8% of the soil organic N increase). Mature composts behaved comparably to FYM, except that for FYM very little N from the last application was available. Regular compost applications equivalent to 200 kg N ha−1 every other year could increase N availability for crops of 50-70 kg N ha−1 over the 2 years of the crop rotation. However, the most stabilised composts led to a higher crop N recovery but also to potential higher amounts of leached N compared to less mature composts