Dissertation Research: Physio-Chemical and Biological Control over the Fate of N and P in Tropical Soils

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99-02317Vitousek/OlanderDDIG: Physio-chemical and biological control over the fate of nitrogen and phosphorus in tropical soilsOur current understanding of the mechanisms regulating the binding of N and P in soils is incomplete. As a result, no regional or global scale modeling efforts to date have included phosphorus dynamics or abiotic nitrogen immobilization. The objective of this research is to develop a better understanding of how biotic and abiotic components of a system control the uptake of N and P, and of how biological and physio-chemical processes interact to regulate the turnover and availability of these nutrient pools. A combination of laboratory and field experiments will be used to determine the partitioning of these nutrients among soil solution, microbial biomass, and the soil mineral - soil organic matter pool in the Hawaiian archipelago. Understanding the mechanisms regulating these processes will enable scientists to improve models and thereby increase the accuracy of predictions of long-term ecosystem responses to fertilization, forest conversion, elevated N deposition, climate shifts, and other environmental changes.