Biogeochemistry Commons^™

Convergence Of Microbial Assimilations Of Soil Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus And Sulfur In Terrestrial Ecosystems, Xiaofeng Xu, Dafeng Hui, Anthony W. King, Xia Song, Peter E. Thornton, Lihua Zhang

Biology Faculty Research

How soil microbes assimilate carbon-C, nitrogen-N, phosphorus-P and sulfur-S is fundamental for understanding nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. We compiled a global database of C, N, P and S concentrations in soils and microbes and developed relationships between them by using a power function model. The C:N:P:S was estimated to be 287:17:1:0.8 for soils and 42:6:1:0.4 for microbes. We found a convergence of the relationships between elements in soils and in soil microbial biomass across C, N, P and S. The element concentrations in soil microbial biomass follow a homeostatic regulation curve with soil element concentrations across C, N, P …

Mercury In Coniferous And Deciduous Upland Forests In Northern New England, Usa: Implications Of Climate Change, J. B. Richardson, A. J. Friedland

Dartmouth Scholarship

Climatic changes in the northeastern US are expected to cause coniferous stands to transition to deciduous stands over the next hundred years. Mercury (Hg) sequestration in forest soils may change as a result. In order to understand potential effects of such a transition, we studied aboveground vegetation and soils at paired coniferous and deciduous stands on eight mountains in Vermont and New Hampshire, USA.

A Comparative Analysis Of Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry And Stable Isotopes In Assessing Ancient Coastal Peruvian Diets, Theresa Jane Gilbertson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores a cross-cultural analysis of the dietary signatures of four coastal cultures of prehistoric Peru. A combination of elemental analysis based on portable x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF), testing trace elements presented in 209 individuals’ skulls representing the Nazca (38), Cañete (33), Lima (40), and Moche (98) valleys and/or cultures of the first millennium AD, is weighed in conjunction with isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) to analyze human bone collagen and bone apatite derived from a portion of the individuals represented in the Nazca, Cañete, and Lima cranial samples.

Evidence from the results of both tests are weighed using …

In Situ Studies Of Limestone Dissolution In A Coastal Submarine Spring, Rachel Marie Schweers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Limestone dissolution in karst environments is likely due to geochemistry of the water, the actions of microbial communities, and the effect of water flow. We explored the rate of limestone dissolution and will examine here the microbial communities associated with the limestone. A conduit within the brackish cave, Double Keyhole Spring, on the coast of central west Florida was the site of the experiment. PVC pipes (5cm x 16cm) were filled with crushed limestone that was screened to a 1.9cm – 2.54cm size range. There were three treatments (5 replicates each): Control - sealed autoclaved controls with limestone and conduit …

Patterns Of Anthropogenic Nutrient Contaminants In The Otter Creek Watershed, Madison County, Kentucky, Elijah D. Wolfe, Walter S. Borowski, Jacob L. Robin

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We measured nutrient concentrations within the Otter Creek watershed (Madison County, Kentucky) to: (1) discover levels of anthropogenic contaminants affecting the water quality; (2) compare these measurements to a national data set; and (3) identify nutrient sources. The watershed mainly drains rural land characterized by cattle grazing, but also drains the town of Richmond. We sampled throughout the watershed to gain a representative perspective of nutrient levels and specifically targeted localities of suspected anthropogenic nutrient sources. Water samples were passed through a 0.45 mm filter, placed in pre-acidified vials, and measured one to two days after collection. Nutrients – ammonium, …

Changes In Litter Quality Caused By Simulated Nitrogen Deposition Reinforce The N-Induced Suppression Of Litter Decay, Linda T. A. Van Diepen, Serita D. Frey, Christopher M. Sthultz, Eric W. Morrison, Rakesh Minocha, Anne Pringle

Faculty Publications

Rates of nitrogen (N) deposition are increasing in industrialized and rapidly developing nations. Simulated N deposition suppresses plant litter decay rates, in particular for low quality (high lignin) litter. Litter quality is a primary driver of litter decomposition; however, it is not clear how changes in litter quality caused by long-term ecosystem exposure to chronic N additions interact with altered soil N-availability to influence litter decay dynamics. To document the effects of simulated N deposition on litter quality, we conducted a meta-analysis of available litter nutrient data from simulated N deposition experiments in temperate forests. To directly test whether changes …

Source-Specific Molecular Signatures For Light-Absorbing Organic Aerosols, Amanda Susan Willoughby

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Organic aerosols (OA) are universally regarded as an important component of the atmosphere based on quantitative significance as well as the far-reaching impact they have on global climate forcing and human health. Despite the acknowledged importance, OA amounts and impacts remain the largest uncertainties regarding radiative forcing estimates. Incomplete chemical characterization of aerosol organic matter (OM) and a lack of concrete source apportionment is a major source of this uncertainty. The primary focus of this study is to provide much needed molecular details regarding ambient OA from key emission sources, and establish links between molecular and optical properties.

Complete chemical …

Development Of Enzymatic Biofuel Cell For Glucose Sensor Application, Ashar Turky Abd

Theses and Dissertations

For several decades, biological fuel cells have drawn significant attention as alternative power sources since they are environmentally friendly and less expensive, compared to the conventional noble metal-based fuel cells. Some enzymatic biocatalysts such as glucose dehydrogenase and glucose oxidase consume glucose as fuel, generating electric currents if paired with an oxygen reduction electrode. While microbial biofuel cells inevitably require a physical barrier or proton exchange membrane between anode and cathode, enzyme-based biofuel cells allow a membraneless or single compartment design, since enzymes are very selective on redox species. For example, glucose dehydrogenase oxidizes the glucose fuel only, while it …

Is Atmospheric Phosphorus Pollution Altering Global Alpine Lake Stoichiometry?, Janice Brahney, Natalie Mahowald, Daniel S. Ward, Ashley P. Ballantyne, Jason C. Neff

Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences Faculty Publications

Anthropogenic activities have significantly altered atmospheric chemistry and changed the global mobility of key macro-nutrients. Here we show that contemporary global patterns in nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) emissions drive large hemispheric variation in precipitation chemistry. These global patterns of nutrient emission and deposition (N:P) are in turn closely reflected in the water chemistry of naturally oligotrophic lake (r² = 0.81, p < 0.0001). Observed increases in anthropogenic N deposition play a role in nutrient concentrations (r² = 0.02, p < 0.05); however, atmospheric deposition of P appears to be major contributor to this pattern (r² = 0.65, p < 0.0001). Atmospheric simulations indicate a global increase in P deposition by 1.4 times the pre-industrial rate largely due to increased dust and biomass burning emissions. Although changes in the mass flux of global P deposition are smaller than for N, the impacts on primary productivity may be greater because, on average, one unit of increased P deposition has 16 times the influence of one unit of N deposition. These stoichiometric considerations, combined with the evidence presented here, suggest that increases in P deposition may be a major driver of alpine Lake trophic status, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. These results underscore the need for the broader scientific community to consider the impact of atmospheric phosphorus deposition on the water quality of naturally oligotrophic lakes.

Predicting Landscape-Scale Co 2 Flux At A Pasture And Rice Paddy With Long-Term Hyperspectral Canopy Reflectance Measurements, J. H. Matthes, S. H. Knox, C. Sturtevant, O. Sonnentag

Dartmouth Scholarship

Measurements of hyperspectral canopy reflectance provide a detailed snapshot of information regarding canopy biochemistry, structure and physiology. In this study, we collected 5 years of repeated canopy hyperspectral reflectance measurements for a total of over 100 site visits within the flux footprints of two eddy covariance towers at a pasture and rice paddy in northern California. The vegetation at both sites exhibited dynamic phenology, with significant interannual variability in the timing of seasonal patterns that propagated into interannual variability in measured hyperspectral reflectance. We used partial least-squares regression (PLSR) modeling to leverage the information contained within the entire canopy reflectance …

Soil Chemistry On Watershed 1: 1998 - 2014, Chris E. Johnson

Civil and Environmental Engineering - All Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Stable Isotopes Of Hydrothermal Carbonate Minerals In The Butte Porphyry-Lode Deposits, Montana, Ryan Stevenson

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

The stable isotopic compositions of over 90 hydrothermal carbonate minerals in the Butte porphyry-lode system were analyzed. These samples came from the underground workings as well as the active Continental Pit area. Most material came from polymetallic “Main Stage” veins which post-date the porphyry Cu-Mo mineralization of Butte. Some samples from late calcite-stellerite veins were also included in the study. Rhodochrosite d¹³C and d¹⁸O values range from -8.3 to -2.9‰ (average of -6.7±1.0‰) and -1.8 to 12.8‰ (average of 3.6 ±3.4‰) respectively, while calcite d¹³C and d¹⁸O values range from -9.0 to …

The Functional And Distributional Ecology Of Mycetozoans Under Changing Edaphic And Climatic Dynamics, Geoffrey Lloyd Zahn

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Investigations into the distribution and ecosystem functions of fruiting amoebae revealed that local-scale environmental conditions can largely explain broad biogeographical patterns in species assemblage, the way in which amoeboid predators shape bacterial communities and how this top-down influence may affect global biogeochemical processes in a changing climate. The distribution and assemblage of protosteloid amoebae on the islands of New Zealand and Hawaii did not yield any expected patterns of island biogeography, and conformed to other global regions studied. The strongest predictor of species richness in a given region was sampling effort and these species do not appear to have any …

Nutrient Addition Effects On Tropical Dry Forests: A Mini-Review From Microbial To Ecosystem Scales, Jennifer S. Powers, Kristen K. Becklund, Maria G. Gei, Siddharth B. Iyengar, Rebecca Meyer, Christine S. O'Connell, Erik M. Schilling, Christina M. Smith, Bonnie G. Waring, Leland K. Werden

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Humans have more than doubled inputs of reactive nitrogen globally and greatly accelerated the biogeochemical cycles of phosphorus and metals. However, the impacts of increased element mobility on tropical ecosystems remain poorly quantified, particularly for the vast tropical dry forest biome. Tropical dry forests are characterized by marked seasonality, relatively little precipitation, and high heterogeneity in plant functional diversity and soil chemistry. For these reasons, increased nutrient deposition may affect tropical dry forests differently than wet tropical or temperate forests. Here, we review studies that investigated how nutrient availability affects ecosystem and community processes from the microsite to ecosystem scales …

Representing Life In The Earth System With Soil Microbial Functional Traits In The Mimics Model, William R. Wieder, A. Stuart Grandy, Cynthia M. Kallenbach, P. G. Taylor, G. B. Bonan

Faculty Publications

Projecting biogeochemical responses to global environmental change requires multi-scaled perspectives that consider organismal diversity, ecosystem processes, and global fluxes. However, microbes, the drivers of soil organic matter decomposition and stabilization, remain notably absent from models used to project carbon (C) cycle–climate feedbacks. We used a microbial trait-based soil C model with two physiologically distinct microbial communities, and evaluate how this model represents soil C storage and response to perturbations. Drawing from the application of functional traits used to model other ecosystems, we incorporate copiotrophic and oligotrophic microbial functional groups in the MIcrobial-MIneral Carbon Stabilization (MIMICS) model; these functional groups are …

Estimates Of Micro-, Nano-, And Picoplankton Contributions To Particle Export In The Northeast Pacific, B. L. Mackinson, S. B. Moran, M. W. Lomas, Gillian M. Stewart, R. P. Kelly

Publications and Research

The contributions of micro-, nano-, and picoplankton to particle export were estimated from measurements of size-fractionated particulate 234Th, organic carbon, and phytoplankton indicator pigments obtained during five cruises between 2010 and 2012 along Line P in the subarctic northeast Pacific Ocean. Sinking fluxes of particulate organic carbon (POC) and indicator pigments were calculated from 234Th;238U disequilibria and, during two cruises, measured by a sediment trap at Ocean Station Papa. POC fluxes at 100m ranged from 0.65 to 7.95 mmolm2 d1, similar in magnitude to previous results at Line P. Microplankton pigments dominate indicator pigment fluxes (averaging 6919% of total pigment …

Crop Rotational Diversity Enhances Belowground Communities And Functions In An Agroecosystem, L. K. Tiemann, A. Stuart Grandy, E. E. Atkinson, E. Marin-Spiotta, M. D. Mcdaniel

Faculty Publications

Biodiversity loss, an important consequence of agricultural intensification, can lead to reductions in agroecosystem functions and services. Increasing crop diversity through rotation may alleviate these negative consequences by restoring positive aboveground–belowground interactions. Positive impacts of aboveground biodiversity on belowground communities and processes have primarily been observed in natural systems. Here, we test for the effects of increased diversity in an agroecosystem, where plant diversity is increased over time through crop rotation. As crop diversity increased from one to five species, distinct soil microbial communities were related to increases in soil aggregation, organic carbon, total nitrogen, microbial activity and decreases in …

Methane Emissions From Direct-Seeded, Delayed-Flood Rice Grown On A Clay Soil, Alden Daniel Smartt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to the production of methane (CH4) under flooded-soil conditions, rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation is a major contributor to agricultural CH4 emissions. Studies examining CH4 emissions from rice have only recently been initiated in Arkansas and no data have been collected from rice produced on clay soils in Arkansas. Therefore, research was conducted in 2012 and 2013 at the Northeast Research and Extension Center in Keiser, Arkansas to examine the factors affecting CH4 emissions from rice produced on a Sharkey clay (very-fine, smectitic, thermic Chromic Epiaquerts). The objectives of this study were to determine: 1) the effect of vegetation …

Biogeochemical Cycling In A Headwater Stream And Riparian Zone, A. Capri Gillam

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Several teams of researchers at multiple universities are currently measuring annual and seasonal fluxes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouses gases (nitrous oxide and methane) in riparian wetlands and upland forests in the Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest (TCEF), a subalpine watershed in the Little Belt Mountains, Montana. In the current thesis, the author characterized the geochemistry and stable carbon isotope composition of shallow groundwater, soil water, and stream water in upper Stringer Creek, near sites that are being investigated for gas chemistry and microbial studies. It was hypothesized that if methanogenesis were a dominant process in the riparian wetlands of …

A Survey Of Aquatic Organisms For The Cyanotoxin Beta-Methylamino-L-Alanine (Bmaa), Ian M. Sammler

OES Theses and Dissertations

Cyanobacteria blooms are increasing globally as a result of eutrophication. Many cyanobacteria are potentially harmful, not only because of the oxygen depleted zones created when they decay, but also because of the toxins they produce. β- Methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), reportedly produced by many species of cyanobacteria, is a non-proteinogenic amino acid that has been linked to the development of neurodegenerative diseases (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer's) in humans. This study presents results from an assessment of BMAA in cyanobacteria and their grazers from the lower Chesapeake Bay and Lake Erie regions. BMAA was analyzed in samples prepared with the EZ:Faast™ …