Which Formalism to Model the pH and Temperature Dependence of the Microbiological Processes in Soils? Emphasis on Nitrification

We compared three formalisms derived from (1) medical sciences, (2) environmental, and (3) agronomic models to simulate the effects of pH and temperature on the nitrification rate in arable soils. We evaluated these formalisms by implementing them in a simple growth model by comparing modelled and measured nitrate contents of soil samples with different initial soil pH after incubation at two temperatures. We found that the formalisms derived from medical sciences were more accurate and easily adapted to the data, suggesting that such formalisms may be profitably used in agronomic or environmental models.