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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

In Situ Plant Uptake Of Excess Nutrients And Consequential Alteration Of Rhizosphere Dynamics, Srusti Maddala May 2020

In Situ Plant Uptake Of Excess Nutrients And Consequential Alteration Of Rhizosphere Dynamics, Srusti Maddala

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The use of phytoremediation in ecological remediation projects has numerous benefits including soil stabilization and nutrient uptake. Recently, microdialysis, a diffusion-based sampling technique commonly used in biomedical research, has been recognized as a candidate for monitoring chemical changes in the rhizosphere. The real-time, in situ data it provides about nutrient diffusion may improve the management and success of restoration projects. Therefore, the objective of this study was to employ the technique of microdialysis in the novel application of quantifying the diffusive flux of inorganic nitrogen compounds in the rhizosphere of native plants of Arkansas. The microdialysis technique was first optimized …


Impacts Of Human Recreation On Nutrient Availability And Periphyton Abundance On The Niobrara River, Matthew Chen, Jessica Corman, Sydney Kimnach, Kayla Vondracek Apr 2020

Impacts Of Human Recreation On Nutrient Availability And Periphyton Abundance On The Niobrara River, Matthew Chen, Jessica Corman, Sydney Kimnach, Kayla Vondracek

UCARE Research Products

In freshwater ecosystems, eutrophication can create many problems. Excess nutrients, like nitrogen or phosphorus, promote algal or cyanobacterial growth. This growth also leads to increased organic matter production and decomposition, a process that can reduce oxygen concentration in the water. When this happens, species diversity declines, transparency of the water declines, and anoxia may lead to fish kills . Of particular concern is the possibility of cyanobacteria blooms that create compounds toxic for humans. Many of the waters across Nebraska receive excessive nutrients from human activities, largely related to agriculture (Dickey 1982). However, there is one river, the Niobrara River, …


Carbon And Nitrogen Recycling During Cyanohabs In Dreissenid-Invaded And Non-Invaded Us Midwestern Lakes And Reservoirs, Trinity L. Hamilton, Jessica Corman, Jeff R. Havig Jan 2020

Carbon And Nitrogen Recycling During Cyanohabs In Dreissenid-Invaded And Non-Invaded Us Midwestern Lakes And Reservoirs, Trinity L. Hamilton, Jessica Corman, Jeff R. Havig

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Lakes and reservoirs play key roles in global carbon cycling, especially as a carbon sink. Enrichment of nutrients in lakes and reservoirs (eutrophication) and rising global temperatures favors the proliferation of bloom-forming cyanobacteria. Harmful blooms of cyanobacteria (cyanoHABs) alter carbon and nutrient cycling in freshwater ecosystems. Some evidence suggests the introduction or establishment of invasive mussel species (i.e., Dreissena spp.) also favor cyanoHAB formation through selective filter feeding, a process through which they may also impact biogeochemical processes including carbon cycling and sequestration. However, few studies have considered the combined effects of invasive mussels and cyanoHABs on carbon and nitrogen …


Microdialysis: A Method For Quantifying In Situ Nitrogen Fluxes In Soil Microsites, Srusti Maddala, Mary C. Savin, Julie A. Stenken, Lisa S. Wood Jan 2020

Microdialysis: A Method For Quantifying In Situ Nitrogen Fluxes In Soil Microsites, Srusti Maddala, Mary C. Savin, Julie A. Stenken, Lisa S. Wood

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Microdialysis, a diffusion-based sampling technique commonly used in biomedical research, has recently been recognized as a candidate for monitoring chemical changes in the rhizosphere. The information it provides about nutrient diffusion may improve nitrogen use efficiency, leading to enhanced management and success of restoration projects. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of microdialysis sampling to quantify the relative recoveries (RR%) of nitrate-N and ammonium-N, the two inorganic nitrogen compounds typically found in soil. The effects of microdialysis flow rate, sample medium concentration, and the presence of both analytes in solution on the relative recoveries obtained from …


Defoliation Severity Is Positively Related To Soil Solution Nitrogen Availability And Negatively Related To Soil Nitrogen Concentrations Following A Multi-Year Invasive Insect Irruption, Emma Conrad-Rooney, Audrey Barker Plotkin, Valerie J. Pasquarella, Joseph Elkinton, Jennifer L. Chandler, Jaclyn Hatala Matthes Jan 2020

Defoliation Severity Is Positively Related To Soil Solution Nitrogen Availability And Negatively Related To Soil Nitrogen Concentrations Following A Multi-Year Invasive Insect Irruption, Emma Conrad-Rooney, Audrey Barker Plotkin, Valerie J. Pasquarella, Joseph Elkinton, Jennifer L. Chandler, Jaclyn Hatala Matthes

Environmental Conservation Faculty Publication Series

Understanding connections between ecosystem nitrogen (N) cycling and invasive insect defoliation could facilitate the prediction of disturbance impacts across a range of spatial scales. In this study we investigated relationships between ecosystem N cycling and tree defoliation during a recent 2015–18 irruption of invasive gypsy moth caterpillars (Lymantria dispar), which can cause tree stress and sometimes mortality following multiple years of defoliation. Nitrogen is a critical nutrient that limits the growth of caterpillars and plants in temperate forests. In this study, we assessed the associations among N concentrations, soil solution N availability and defoliation intensity by L. dispar …