Sea-salt aerosols (SSA) impact the cycling of nutrients within coastal soils, including the mobility of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and ammonium, denitrification, and litter decomposition. These aerosols are formed during tumultuous weather in the open ocean and are transported and deposited inland by wind. Soils closer to the ocean are...
Urban agriculture (UA) is defined as the production of food crops or livestock within urban areas. Despite its popularity in the United States, research into UA systems suffers from a general underrepresentation of commercial urban systems. As a result, urban growers often have unique technological needs that are unmet by...
Soil is a complex living system with high heterogeneity, which makes locating soil map boundaries a challenge. In traditional soil survey, the placement of soil map boundaries relies largely (at least initially) on identifying the soil-forming factors of biota and topographic relief through stereo aerial photo pairs. Future soil survey...
Forest soils contain a substantial portion of global terrestrial carbon stores. Forest management can influence the soil carbon pool and how soil organic matter functions. The long-term productivity of forests is an ongoing goal where land managers utilize biomass and timber. A site-specific understanding of intensively managed forests can ensure...
Soil food webs process the majority of terrestrial carbon, and influence overall ecosystem function. A primary distinction among soil food webs is based on fungal versus bacterial pathways of decomposition; these lead to fundamentally different soil function, and are expected to differ in dominance between meadows and forests. This assumption...
Forests are one of the largest repositories of terrestrial C. Understanding factors that drive organic matter transformations and nutrient efflux from these systems is therefore highly important. Temperate forests are of particular significance due to the large fraction of C that is stored below ground in the soil. Characterizing nutrient...
Lower and Middle Devonian strata crop out on the former
stable carbonate platform that existed in the Quinn Canyon Range,
through the carbonate shelf edge in the Pancake Range, to the
carbonate slope and outer-shelf basin in the Reveille Range.
The strata of the Reveille Range record a transition from...
Most carbon (C) transformations in soil are carried out by a diverse and complex soil microbial community. The size and composition of the soil microbial community is determined by poorly understood interactions between the quantity and chemical composition of plant inputs, as well as climate. Given the metabolic diversity of...
Streamflow patterns are a result of the interaction of many factors, including climate, vegetation, geology, and topography. Analyses indicate that streamflow patterns have changed around the United States over the past century, raising questions about the possible role of climate variability as a driver of water yield. This thesis examines...
Successful conservation management requires an understanding of how species respond to intervention. Native and exotic species may respond differently to management interventions due to differences arising directly from their native or exotic origin (i.e., provenance) or from differences in life-history or phylogenetic lineage that are associated with provenance. Thus, selection...
Most soil organic C is in a stable form, associated with clay minerals in the upper soil profile. Upon environmental and land-use changes, stable soil C is subject to losses, which influence the global C cycle and the productivity of terrestrial ecosystems. However, mechanisms controlling soil C destabilization are not...
This thesis is comprised of two manuscripts that relate to forest-based management strategies in the context of market-based climate change mitigation policies. The work questions the appropriateness of a singular focus on carbon sequestration given the albedo effect and its possible countervailing climatic impacts. Through a review of salient literature...
Streamside buffer strips provide numerous benefits to stream ecosystems. The buffer strips create shade, provide shelter for wildlife, act as barriers to logging debris during and after timber harvest, and serve as a continued source of large woody debris. Quantifying woody inputs resulting from windthrow provides managers with estimates for...
Due to growing global competition, especially in the last decade, the United States wood and wood-based industries have suffered significant market share losses. The wood industry in Germany is facing similar challenges. To stay competitive in an increasingly global marketplace, many wood manufacturers are adopting new management/manufacturing approaches. Lean manufacturing...
