Mulch representation in soil-crop models

Organic mulching is widely used in agriculture to improve soil conditions and enhance crop performance. However, mulch induces complex changes in soil processes, making process-based soil-crop models essential for understanding and predicting these effects. This non-systematic review summarizes the effects of mulch on soil hydrology, fertility, and temperature to evaluate how these processes are integrated into process-based soil-crop models. Current modeling approaches range from simple surface-residue representations that affect evaporation to more integrated frameworks that simulate decomposition and energy-balance feedbacks. Nevertheless, comprehensive and transferable representations of mulch effects remain limited. Future progress will require open-access datasets and modeling frameworks that explicitly represent mulch processes and feedback mechanisms with soil and crops. These improvements would enhance the implementation and optimization of mulch management strategies under varying environmental conditions.