Modeling denitrification: can we report what we don’t know?

Biogeochemical models simulate soil nitrogen (N) turnover and are often used to assess N losses through denitrification. Though models simulate a complete N budget, only specific N pools/fluxes (i.e. N2O, NO3-, NH3, NOx) are usually published, because the full budget cannot be validated with measured data. Field studies rarely include full N balances, especially N2 fluxes, which are difficult to quantify. Limiting publication of modeling results based on available field data is a missed opportunity to improve the understanding of modeled processes. We suggest that the modeler community support publication of all simulated N pools and processes in future studies.