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Importance Of Placement Depth In Evaluating Soil Nitrogen, Phosphorus, And Sulfur Using Ion Exchange Resin Capsules In Semi-Arid, Low Fertility Soils, Rachel Lynn Buck
Importance Of Placement Depth In Evaluating Soil Nitrogen, Phosphorus, And Sulfur Using Ion Exchange Resin Capsules In Semi-Arid, Low Fertility Soils, Rachel Lynn Buck
Theses and Dissertations
Ion exchange resin capsules provide a possible alternative to conventional soil testing procedures. Previous studies with semi-arid, low fertility soils observed poor relationships with poorly mobile nutrients such as phosphorus (P). We propose that placement depth may improve those relationships. Our objective was to (1) determine if placement depth could improve resin capsule estimation of the bioavailability of nitrogen (N), P, and sulfur (S) and (2) to determine if resin capsules can effectively estimate S availability in semi-arid, low fertility soils. Field sites were established in Rush and Skull Valleys, Utah on loam and sandy loam soils, respectively. Fertilizer was …
Hypersaline Lake Environments Exhibit Reduced Microbial Dormancy, Joshua Christopher Vert
Hypersaline Lake Environments Exhibit Reduced Microbial Dormancy, Joshua Christopher Vert
Theses and Dissertations
From acid seeps and deep-sea thermal vents to glacial ice and hypersaline lakes, extreme environments contain relatively simplified communities consisting of extremophiles that have evolved to survive and thrive under adverse abiotic conditions. In more neutral environments, microorganisms use dormancy as a common life history strategy to weather temporal fluctuations of resources or stresses until more 'optimal' conditions are present. It is unclear if dormancy is an essential survival mechanism for microorganisms in extreme environments; however, recent studies suggest that extreme environments may create stable conditions for extremophiles to the extent that dormancy is of less ecological importance. Using lake …
Microbial Responses To Coarse Woody Debris In Juniperus And Pinus Woodlands, Deborah Monique Rigby
Microbial Responses To Coarse Woody Debris In Juniperus And Pinus Woodlands, Deborah Monique Rigby
Theses and Dissertations
The ecological significance of coarse woody debris (CWD) is usually highlighted in forests where CWD constitutes much of an ecosystem's carbon (C) source and stores. However, a unique addition of CWD is occurring in semi-deserts for which there is no ecological analog. To stem catastrophic wildfires and create firebreaks, whole Juniperus osteosperma (Torr.) and Pinus edulis (Engelm.) trees are being mechanically shredded into CWD fragments and deposited on soils previously exposed to decades of tree-induced changes that encourage "tree islands of fertility." To investigate consequences of CWD on C and nitrogen (N) cycling, we evaluated microbial metabolic activity and N …