Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Reduced Carbon Use Efficiency And Increased Microbial Turnover With Soil Warming, Jianwei Li, Gangsheng Wang, Melanie A. Mayes, Steven D. Allison, Serita D. Frey, Zheng Shi, Xiao-Ming Hu, Yiqi Luo, Jerry M. Melillo

Faculty Publications

Global soil carbon (C) stocks are expected to decline with warming, and changes in microbial processes are key to this projection. However, warming responses of critical microbial parameters such as carbon use efficiency (CUE) and biomass turnover (rB) are not well understood. Here, we determine these parameters using a probabilistic inversion approach that integrates a microbial-enzyme model with 22 years of carbon cycling measurements at Harvard Forest. We find that increasing temperature reduces CUE but increases rB, and that two decades of soil warming increases the temperature sensitivities of CUE and rB. These temperature sensitivities, which are derived from decades-long …

Unh Energy Task Force: 2017 Annual Report, Unh Energy Task Force

The Sustainability Institute Publications

The Energy Task Force (ETF) at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) was established in 2005 and is comprised of staff, faculty, and students. The ETF serves in an advisory capacity to the UNH President and makes recommendations on the full range of issues related to climate change and energy.

The fiscal year 2017 was a watershed year for the UNH and our commitment to renewable energy. Our greenhouse gas footprint is down 51% from the 2001 baseline and our electricity is now 100% powered by renewables. The University’s greenhouse gas emissions based on the number of students and gross …

Guidelines And Considerations For Designing Field Experiments Simulating Precipitation Extremes In Forest Ecosystems, Heidi Asbjornsen, John L. Campbell, Katie A. Jennings, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur, Cameron Mcintire, Pamela H. Templer, Richard P. Phillips, Taryn L. Bauerle, Michael C. Dietze, Serita D. Frey, Peter M. Groffman, Rosella Guerrieri, Paul J. Hanson, Eric P. Kelsey, Alan K. Knapp, Nathan G. Mcdowell, Patrick Meir, Kimberly A. Novick, Scott V. Ollinger, Will T. Pockman, Paul G. Schaberg, Stan D. Wullschleger, Melinda D. Smith, Lindsey E. Rustad

Faculty Publications

Precipitation regimes are changing in response to climate change, yet understanding of how forest ecosystems respond to extreme droughts and pluvials remains incomplete. As future precipitation extremes will likely fall outside the range of historical variability, precipitation manipulation experiments (PMEs) are critical to advancing knowledge about potential ecosystem responses. However, few PMEs have been conducted in forests compared to short-statured ecosystems, and forest PMEs have unique design requirements and constraints. Moreover, past forest PMEs have lacked coordination, limiting cross-site comparisons. Here, we review and synthesize approaches, challenges, and opportunities for conducting PMEs in forests, with the goal of guiding design …

Cover Crops May Cause Winter Warming In Snow-Covered Regions, Danica L. Lombardozzi, Gordon B. Bonan

Faculty Publications

Cover crops, grown between cash crops when soil is fallow, are a management strategy that may help mitigate climate change. The biogeochemical effects of cover crops are well documented, as they provide numerous localized benefits to farmers. We test potential biogeophysical climate impacts of idealized cover crop scenarios by assuming that cover crops are planted offseason in all crop regions throughout North America. Our results suggest that planting cover crops increases wintertime temperature up to 3 °C in central North America by decreasing albedo in regions with variable snowpack. Cover crops with higher leaf area indices increase temperature more by …

Responses Of Non-Native Earthworms To Experimental Eradication Of Garlic Mustard And Implications For Native Vegetation, Kristina A. Stinson, Serita D. Frey, M. R. Jackson, E. Coates-Connor, Mark A. Anthony, K. Martinez

Faculty Publications

Recent studies in invasion biology suggest that positive feedback among two or more introduced organisms facilitate establishment within a new range and drive changes in native plant communities. Here, we experimentally tested for relationships between native plants and two non-native organisms invading forest habitats in North America: garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata, Brassicaceae) and earthworms. In two forested sites, we compared understory vegetation and earthworm biomass in plots where garlic mustard was removed for three years, plots without garlic mustard invasion, and plots invaded by garlic mustard that was not removed. Earthworm biomass was highest in the plots with garlic mustard, …

Litter Identity Affects Assimilation Of Carbon And Nitrogen By A Shredding Caddisfly, Adam C. Siders, Zacchaeus G. Compson, Bruce A. Hungate, Paul Dijkstra, George W. Koch, Adam S. Wymore, A. Stuart Grandy, Jane C. Marks

Faculty Publications

Ecologists often equate litter quality with decomposition rate. In soil and sediments, litter that is rapidly decomposed by microbes often has low concentrations of tannin and lignin and low C:N ratios. Do these same traits also favor element transfer to higher trophic levels in streams, where many insects depend on litter as their primary food source? We test the hypothesis that slow decomposition rates promote element transfer from litter to insects, whereas rapid decomposition favors microbes. We measured carbon and nitrogen fluxes from four plant species to a leaf-shredding caddisfly using isotopically labeled litter. Caddisflies assimilated a higher percentage of …

Minerals In The Rhizosphere: Overlooked Mediators Of Soil Nitrogen Availability To Plants And Microbes, Andrea Jilling, Marco Keiluweit, Alexandra R. Contosta, Serita D. Frey, Joshua Schimel, Jorg Schnecker, Richard G. Smith, Lisa Tiemann, A. Stuart Grandy

Faculty Publications

Despite decades of research progress, ecologists are still debating which pools and fluxes provide nitrogen (N) to plants and soil microbes across different ecosystems. Depolymerization of soil organic N is recognized as the rate-limiting step in the production of bioavailable N, and it is generally assumed that detrital N is the main source. However, in many mineral soils, detrital polymers constitute a minor fraction of total soil organic N. The majority of organic N is associated with clay-sized particles where physicochemical interactions may limit the accessibility of N-containing compounds. Although mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) has historically been considered a critical, …

Review Of Solid Polarized Targets, Leiqaa Kurbany

Student Research Projects

In the following pages I review polarized solid-state target briefly. What I discovered through my reading and writing about this technology, that is amazing tool to study the nucleon structure. I started with what is polarized solid-state target, went through Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) to understanding how it works, then its setup, in what experiments they used polarized solid-state target and some results of these experiments and finally I wrote a brief definition to many of terms, they are important to know to understand what is polarized solid state target.

Place: A Dynamic Geospatial Data Repository, Eleta Exline, Hannah Hamalainen

PLACE Project

Poster presented at University of Massachusetts and New England Area Librarian e-Science Symposium, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, April 5, 2018

Economic Contributions Of Winter Sports In A Changing Climate, Hagenstad Consulting, Inc., Elizabeth Burakowski, Rebecca Hill

Earth Systems Research Center

In mountain towns across the United States that rely on winter tourism, snow is

currency. For snow lovers and the winter sports industry, predictions of a future with

warmer winters, reduced snowfall, and shorter snow seasons is inspiring them to

innovate, increase their own efforts to address emissions, and speak publicly on the

urgent need for action.

This report examines the economic contribution of winter snow sports tourism to

U.S. national and state-level economies. In a 2012 analysis, Protect Our Winters and

the Natural Resources Defense Council found that the winter sports tourism industry

generates $12.2 billion and 23 million …

Preparing For A Northwest Passage: A Workshop On The Role Of New England In Navigating The New Arctic, Katharine A. Duderstadt, Catherine M. Ashcraft, Jennifer F. Brewer, Elizabeth Burakowski, Jaed M. Coffin, Jack E. Dibb, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Nancy E. Kinner, Larry A. Mayer, Jennifer L. Miksis-Olds, Joseph Salisbury, Kerri D. Seger, Ruth K. Varner, Cameron P. Wake

Earth Systems Research Center

Preparing for a Northwest Passage: A Workshop on the Role of New England in Navigating the New Arctic (March 25 - 27, 2018 -- The University of New Hampshire) paired two of NSF's 10 Big Ideas: Navigating the New Arctic and Growing Convergence Research at NSF. During this event, participants assessed economic, environmental, and social impacts of Arctic change on New England and established convergence research initiatives to prepare for, adapt to, and respond to these effects. Shipping routes through an ice-free Northwest Passage in combination with modifications to ocean circulation and regional climate patterns linked to Arctic ice melt …

Carbon Fluxes And Interannual Drivers In A Temperate Forest Ecosystem Assessed Through Comparison Of Top-Down And Bottom-Up Approaches, Andrew P. Ouimette, Scott V. Ollinger, Andrew D. Richardson, David Y. Hollinger, Trevor F. Keenan, Lucie C. Lepine, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur

Earth Systems Research Center

Despite decades of research, gaining a comprehensive understanding of carbon (C) cycling in forests remains a considerable challenge. Uncertainties stem from persistent methodological limitations and the difficulty of resolving top-down estimates of ecosystem C exchange with bottom-up measurements of individual pools and fluxes. To address this, we derived estimates and associated uncertainties of ecosystem C fluxes for a 100-125 year old mixed temperate forest stand at the Bartlett Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA, using three different approaches: (1) tower-based eddy covariance, (2) a biometric approach involving C flux measurements of individual ecosystem subcomponents, and (3) an inventory approach involving changes …

Integrated Analysis Of The Value Of Wetland Services In Coastal Adaptation; Methodology And Case Study Of Hampton-Seabrook Estuary, New Hampshire, Paul Kirshen, Semra Aytur, David M. Burdick, Diane Foster, Tom Lippmann, Ellen Douglas, Sydney Nick, Chris Watson

Jackson Estuarine Laboratory

The present impacts from coastal storms and high tides grow significantly over time due to SLR even over the relatively short period to 2060. Hydrodynamic model simulations of storm surge with and without sea level rise scenarios show that although flooding and inundation increases with increasing subtidal forcing and higher sea level, dissipation of the tide and storm surge in the estuary channel somewhat limits the maximum inundation that might otherwise be expected in the back marsh areas. The estuary is dominated by high marsh, which lies high in the intertidal zone and by 2060 it will convert to mostly …

Phosphorus Limitation Of Aboveground Production In Northern Hardwood Forests, Shinjini Goswami, Melany C. Fisk, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur, Mariann Garrison-Johnston, Ruth D. Yanai, Timothy J. Fahey

Earth Systems Research Center

Forest productivity on glacially derived soils with weatherable phosphorus (P) is expected to be limited by nitrogen (N), according to theories of long-term ecosystem development. However, recent studies and model simulations based on resource optimization theory indicate that productivity can be co-limited by N and P. We conducted a full factorial N × P fertilization experiment in 13 northern hardwood forest stands of three age classes in central New Hampshire, USA, to test the hypothesis that forest productivity is co-limited by N and P. We also asked whether the response of productivity to N and P addition differs among species …

Sensitivity Of Black Phosphorus To O2 And Atmosphere Measured By Macroscopic Four-Point Probe, Cameron Flynn

Honors Theses and Capstones

Scientific interest in black phosphorus, a two-dimensional semiconducting allotrope of phosphorus, has increased in the last few years, since it was shown in 2014 to have very good properties for fieldeffect transistors. Unfortunately, practical use of the material is delayed because of its tendency to degrade into a phosphoric oxide when left in air. In this thesis I present the effects of atmospheric air and pure oxygen on the transport properties of bulk black phosphorus with and without light exposure. For continuous measurements carried out by millimeter-scale four-point probe, we see no change in the resistance of bulk samples exposed …

Exclusive Production Of Phi Vector Meson During Hera-Ii, Brent Lawson

Honors Theses and Capstones

The Hadron Electron Ring Accelerator (HERA) in Germany, which ran from 1992 to 2007, is to date the only high energy electron and proton collider. The ZEUS detector at HERA measured the collisions of 27.5 GeV electrons with 920 GeV protons. Elastic vector meson production was measured during the first phase of HERA (HERA-I) from 1992 to 2000 before HERA was upgraded in 2003 (HERA-II) with increased luminosity. The goal of this project was to analyze data collected during the HERA-II run to identify and quantify the exclusive production of the  vector meson. Runs from the ZEUS experiment were …

Relationship Between Interplanetary Conditions And Changes In The Geomagnetic Field To Understand The Causes Of Geomagnetically Induced Currents, Cameron P. Maillet

Honors Theses and Capstones

Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GICs) are electrical currents induced in ground-level conductive networks, like power lines and pipelines, which can cause costly damage to infrastructure. GICs are induced in response to fast changes in the geomagnetic field (GMF) according to Faraday’s Law of Electromagnetic Induction. The purpose of this study was to identify the parameters of the solar wind and interplanetary shocks which are most strongly correlated with large, fast changes in the magnitude of the GMF. GMF data is 1-min averaged time series of mid- and high-latitude magnetometer measurements in the Sym/H and AL indices, respectively. For solar wind data, …

Alternative Energy: An Examination Of Costs, Safety, And Potential, Evan Searles

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Do Hotel Guests Act According To Their Intentions As It Relates To Sustainability In A Hotel Setting?, Heather A. Price

Honors Theses and Capstones

As humans continue to use our planet’s resources at a rapid pace, we must act quickly to implement solutions and strategies that will create a positive impact on our environment. The hotel industry represents a huge opportunity for increasing sustainability practices, as these establishments tend to consume tremendous amounts of natural resources through energy and water usage; thus creating quite a bit of waste. For this customer-centric industry, change starts with consumer expectations and intentions to act. The purpose of this study was to assess hotel guests’ values and intentions for sustainable hotels, and compare how this aligns with their …

Observations Of Ion Density And Temperature Around The International Space Station During Two Geomagnetic Storms, Alex M. Wright

Honors Theses and Capstones

The International Space Station (ISS) is a low Earth orbit research facility and host to an international crew. Geomagnetic storms cause changes in the Earth’s magnetic field and affect the ion density and temperature in the ionosphere which could pose a hazard to ISS crew. This hazard is measured by the Floating Potential Measurement Unit (FPMU) which measures ion density, ion temperature, and the charge differential of the ISS relative to its surrounding environment. I analyzed data collected by Narrow Sweep Langmuir Probe for two storms in 2015. Ion density and temperature were affected by geomagnetic storms, but the effects …