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Arjun Chakrawal
Postdoctoral Research Associate

Arjun Chakrawal is a postdoctoral research associate working with the Biogeochemical Transformations and Systems Modeling Integrated Research Platforms. His research focuses on the utilization of high-resolution Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance techniques to characterize soil organic matter composition and its integration into process-based biogeochemical models used for predicting carbon exchange fluxes from soils. The primary aim of his research is to develop modeling tools to inform ecosystem-scale Earth system models with molecular-scale information on organic matter chemistry and microbial functional diversity.

Research Interests

  • Eco-evolutionary processes
  • Biogeochemical cycle modeling
  • Plant–soil–microbe interactions
  • Data–model integration for parametrization and validation
  • Optimization, optimal control, and machine learning

Education

Affiliations and Professional Service

  • Guest editor for Soil Biology and Biochemistry special issue “Linking carbon and energy fluxes in soil – from resources to consumers and back again”
  • Active reviewer for Soil Biology and Biochemistry, European Journal of Soil Science, Geoderma, Nature Ecology & Evolution, Geoscientific Model Development, Biogeochemistry
  • Invited lecture on “Thermodynamics of microbial growth,” Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência (IGC), Portugal (virtual event, 15 Nov 2021)
  • Invited seminar on “Bioenergetic approaches in soil systems,” DFG (German Research Foundation) priority programme Soil Systems: Systems ecology of soils (virtual event, 6 Oct 2022)
  • Contributed lecture to Soil Systems summer school on Modeling in biothermodynamics and systems ecology

Publications

2024

He, X., E. Abs, S. D. Allison, F. Tao, Y. Huang, S. Manzoni, R. Abramoff, E. Bruni, S. P. K. Bowring, A. Chakrawal, P. Ciais, L. Elsgaard, P. Friedlingstein, K. Georgiou, G. Hugelius, L. B. Holm, W. Li, Y. Luo, G. Marmasse, N. Nunan, C. Qiu, S. Sitch, Y.-P. Wang, and D. S. Goll. 2024. “Emerging Multiscale Insights on Microbial Carbon Use Efficiency in the Land Carbon Cycle.” Nature Communications 15: 8010. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52160-5.

Chakrawal, A., B. D. Lindahl, O. Qafoku, and S. Manzoni. 2024. “Comparing Plant Litter Molecular Diversity Assessed from Proximate Analysis and 13C NMR Spectroscopy.” Soil Biology and Biochemistry 197: 109517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109517.

Chakrawal, A., B. D. Lindahl, and S. Manzoni. 2024. “Modelling Optimal Ligninolytic Activity During Plant Litter Decomposition.” New Phytologist 243 (3): 866–880. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.19572.