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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Hydrologic Controls On Phosphorus Speciation And Mobilization In A Subalpine Watershed (East River, Colorado), Lucia Isobel Arthen-Long Oct 2021

Hydrologic Controls On Phosphorus Speciation And Mobilization In A Subalpine Watershed (East River, Colorado), Lucia Isobel Arthen-Long

Masters Theses

The cycling of phosphorus (P) through floodplain environments is critical to ecosystem productivity and has significant implications on both water quality and soil fertility. P export from soils in response to saturation has been well documented, but the relative vulnerability of specific P pools to mobilization remains poorly constrained, as do the mechanisms mediating its release. The prediction of P availability in and export from mountainous floodplain soils is of great importance as global climate change is projected to significantly alter precipitation regimes in alpine systems. This study combined a thorough characterization of P distribution across a hillslope to floodplain …


Soil Macroinvertebrates Responses To Wildfires In The Blue Ridge Mountains, Usa, Madeline Olliff May 2021

Soil Macroinvertebrates Responses To Wildfires In The Blue Ridge Mountains, Usa, Madeline Olliff

Biology Theses

Fire has been a prevalent disturbance on Earth for millions of years. Around the globe there are several regions that have become fire adapted, including the Southeastern United States. There have been few studies examining the effects of wildland fires on soil macroinvertebrates in the Blue Ridge Mountains, in spite of the importance of these animals to soil processes and their contributions to the biodiversity of these ecosystems. During the fall of 2016, the Southeastern USA experienced numerous, large wildfires. These fires offered an opportunity to study the effects of wildland fire on soil macroinvertebrates. We sampled sites from three …


Mycorrhizal Type Dictates Soil Microbial Diversity And Function And The Integrated Root-Microbial Response To Water Stress In Temperate Forests, Nanette C. Raczka Jan 2021

Mycorrhizal Type Dictates Soil Microbial Diversity And Function And The Integrated Root-Microbial Response To Water Stress In Temperate Forests, Nanette C. Raczka

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Our understanding of the mechanisms that control the magnitude of the temperate forest carbon (C) sink and its response to global change remain uncertain. Much of this uncertainty lies in the extent to which differences between tree species in their mycorrhizal symbionts and corresponding nutrient acquisition strategies control the activity of soil microbes that mobilize nutrients and decompose soil organic matter. ECM trees allocate substantial amounts of C to ECM fungi and rhizosphere microbes to mine soil organic matter for nutrients. By contrast, AM trees invest less C belowground and rely on AM fungi to scavenge for nutrients. While these …


Metagenomic Identification And Classification Of The Mercury-Methylating Gene Hgca In Response To Water Table And Plant Functional Group Manipulations In Peat Soil, Madeline Peterson Jan 2021

Metagenomic Identification And Classification Of The Mercury-Methylating Gene Hgca In Response To Water Table And Plant Functional Group Manipulations In Peat Soil, Madeline Peterson

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Methyl-mercury (MeHg) is a potent neurotoxin that threatens the health of humans and wildlife alike. Climate warming threatens to shift regional precipitation and climate regimes in peatland environments, which could destabilize northern peatlands and accelerate both Hg release from soil and MeHg production. Peatlands are among the leading hotspots for MeHg, yet little is known about the community composition or functional relationship of mercury-methylating microbes in response to varying environmental conditions. The recognized mercury-methylating genes responsible for this activity are the obligatory gene pair hgcA and hgcB. Metagenomic data from the full-factorial peatland mesocosm experiment PEATcosm was obtained to …