The perhumid coastal temperate rainforests of southeast Alaska contain an abundance of soil organic carbon (SOC) that has accumulated in a wet, cool climate where forest fire disturbance is minimal and organic matter decomposition rates are low. Coastal temperate rainforests are supported by carbon-rich soils that provide ecosystem services including...
Various soil tests are routinely used in the United States to predict soil lime requirement. New non-hazardous methods have recently been proposed for adoption in Oregon, however the accuracy of these methods for Oregon soils has not been established. The objectives of this investigation were: (a) to document and describe...
The effects of fire on above-ground forest systems have been extensively studied. However, research on fire effects on belowground processes is lacking. While the soil microbiome is understood to be vital to conifer growth and regeneration, the complexity of soils means that research on the topic has largely been accomplished...
Remote sensing techniques have been applied extensively in geospatial investigations, but their use in measuring soil physical attributes has been far less explored. Soil particle size distributions (PSD) are indispensable in modeling pedological and hydrological processes as well as biodiversity. However, estimation of PSD via gravimetric measurement methods, the standard...
Temperate coniferous forests, such as those that cover vast areas of the western US and Canada, have evolved to depend on cycles of disturbance for succession of species and overall ecosystem maintenance. Many of these forest systems are managed, often for timber production, where disturbances are of anthropogenic origin and...
“Active carbon” is a rapidly cycling soil organic carbon (SOC) fraction that acts as an energy and nutrient source for the microbial community. Dilute permanganate oxidation has been used to measure an “active carbon” fraction with the assumption that permanganate oxidation mimics enzymatic decomposition. Permanganate oxidizable carbon (PoxC) has become...
Coastal Temperate Rainforests of western North America are carbon dense ecological regions of great importance due to their high biological productivity and climatic conditions leading to the natural accumulation of soil organic carbon (SOC). Yet, the distribution of SOC remains understudied in the CTR environments, particularly in upland mineral soils,...
In Oregon perennial and annual grass seed cropping systems conservation management practices and their impacts on soil health and soil microbial community is not well understood. There is strong motivation to employ conservation tillage and other conservation practices to curb atmospheric carbon levels and improve soil health. However, the few...
It is known that soil biota affects water dynamics through various complex mechanisms. The impact on retention by soil biota are due to a combination of changes to pore geometry, pore clogging by biofilms, biofilms that serve to connect thin water films across many pores as the soil dries, and...
Irrigated agricultural production in sandy soils presents several unique challenges to growers, including naturally high permeability, low native water retention, as well as high rates of water drainage losses and leaching of chemicals to the shallow aquifers. This study is an initial investigation into water motion in the sandy agricultural...