Life Sciences Commons^™

Nitrogen Cycling During A Period Of Environmental Change, Kaizad Patel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Natural and anthropogenic disturbances have altered the N cycle on the regional to global scale. Although numerous studies have examined the effects of chronic atmospheric N deposition on ecosystem processes, less is known about intra-annual variability of these processes, or how these responses might be altered under conditions of changing climate. The work described in this dissertation focuses on the effects of a changing chemical and physical climate, particularly terrestrial N processes (a) during Maine’s changing winters, and (b) in response to chronic elevated N additions.

Subnivean winter soil processes were examined at the Dwight B. DeMerritt Forest (DBDF) and …

Tb200: Carbon And Nutrients In Maine Forest Soils, Ivan J. Fernandez

Technical Bulletins

Recent public concerns surrounding climate change and greenhouse gas emissions have resulted in a lively debate about approaches to fossil fuel offsets and carbon (C) sequestration in forests. The forest community sees opportunities for the intensification of the use of forests for markets ranging from forest products, such as fuel or fuel feedstock, to a range of new bioproducts. This report provides initial insights from an ongoing effort to synthesize forest soils data for Maine. The specific objectives presented here were (1) to develop descriptive statistics for C and measures of available forms of the essential nutrients N, P, and …

Tb195: Element Concentrations In Maine Forest Vegetation And Soils, Chandra J. Mcgee, Ivan J. Fernandez, Stephen A. Norton, Constance S. Stubbs

Technical Bulletins

Bioaccumulation of trace metals in plant tissues can present a health risk to wildlife, and potentially to humans. The Passamaquoddy Tribe in Maine was concerned about health risks of cadmium (Cd) because of a health advisory for moose liver and kidney consumption due to high Cd levels. In addition to Cd, this study evaluated concentrations of aluminum (Al), calcium (Ca), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), phosphorus (P), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in four common terrestrial moose-browse species, associated forest soils, and two species of aquatic vegetation on Passamaquoddy tribal land in eastern …

The Role Of Forest Soils In A Northern New England Effluent Management System, Leslie B. Nelson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Carrabassett Valley Sanitary District in Carrabassett Valley, Maine has utilized both a forest spray irrigation system and a Snowfluent™ system for the treatment of their wastewater effluent. This study was designed to evaluate potential changes in soil properties after approximately 20 years of treatment in the forested spray irrigation site and three years of treatment in the field Snowfluent™ site. In addition, grass yield and composition were evaluated on the field study sites. After treatment with effluent or Snowfluent™, soils showed an increase in soil exchangeable Ca, Mg, Na, and K, base saturation, and pH. While most constituents were …

Tb178: Methods For Evaluating Carbon Fractions In Forest Soils: A Review, Jennifer L. Evans, Ivan J. Fernandez, Lindsey E. Rustad, Stephen A. Norton

Technical Bulletins

This publication was developed as part of an effort to evaluate the existing methodologies for determining carbon fractions in soils that might be applied to the question of forest soil C sequestration. A great deal of research has been done on this topic although often focused on agronomic soils. Forest land managers will be increasingly interested in identifying methods to monitor and to evaluate the effects of forest practices on soil C reserves. As well researchers are interested in this and the logical linkages to N cycling. Ultimately practical methods that can be widely utilized will be needed; these may …