Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Exploring Soil Microbial Dynamics In Southern Appalachian Forests: A Systems Biology Approach To Prescribed Fire Impacts, Saad Abd Ar Rafie

Doctoral Dissertations

Prescribed fires in Southern Appalachian forests are vital in ecosystem management and wildfire risk mitigation. However, understanding the intricate dynamics between these fires, soil microbial communities, and overall ecosystem health remains challenging. This dissertation addresses this knowledge gap by exploring selected aspects of this complex relationship across three interconnected chapters.

The first chapter investigates the immediate effects of prescribed fires on soil microbial communities. It reveals subtle shifts in porewater chemistry and significant increases in microbial species richness. These findings offer valuable insights into the interplay between soil properties and microbial responses during the early stages following a prescribed fire. …

Direct Air Capture: Catalyzing A Carbon Negative Future, Tagg K. Lee

Civil and Environmental Engineering Publications

Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology has emerged as a promising means to address the escalating challenges of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels and mitigate climate change. This paper provides an elementary overview of DAC, encompassing its underlying principles, technological advancements, and associated challenges. Point Source Carbon Capture is compared against Direct Air Capture with a solid or liquid sorbent, and physisorbents/chemisorbents are outlined. The past decade has seen a steep rise in the usage of chemical sorbents in particular, which are explored alongside their regeneration processes. This review provides an introductory explanation for the mechanisms of common DAC …