MRI: Acquisition of Instrumentation for the Analysis of Carbon and Nitrogen in Soil and Sediment for an Undergraduate Research Program

MRI：为本科生研究项目购买用于分析土壤和沉积物中碳和氮的仪器

• 批准号: 1428311
• 负责人: C. Brannon Andersen
• 金额: $ 9.2万
• 依托单位: Furman University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-08-01 至 2015-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1428311&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MRI; Acquisition; Instrumentation; Analysis; Carbon

Soil degradation is a major global environmental problem. Agroecological methods such as no-till farming and intensive grazing have potential to restore soil fertility, reduce the environmental impacts of agriculture, and restore soil function as a sink for carbon. Degraded pasture land, one of the most prevalent land covers on Earth and common in the South Carolina Piedmont, presents significant potential for increased agricultural productivity and carbon sequestration. This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) award funds analytical equipment that will be used to collect soil carbon data which will increase understanding of current and future soil quality, and its relationship to land uses such as pasture and urban lawns, in the South Carolina Piedmont. Better understanding of the properties of Piedmont soils may lead to improved soil management, which in turn can influence watershed hydrology and water quality in the region. A major objective of instrumentation acquisition is to train undergraduates to use research grade instruments and to interpret the data, preparing them for both employment and graduate education. Students using this instrument will conduct research in soil biogeochemistry, and results will directly benefit local farmers working to mitigate soil degradation. Students will benefit from interaction with farmers, gaining understanding of the importance of agroecosystems to society. In addition to involving undergraduate students (who are predominantly female) from Furman University, the researchers will involve high school students through research and education programs already in place. Also, Furman's membership in two consortia of southeastern liberal arts colleges provides the opportunity to involve undergraduates from several Historically Black Colleges. This project is jointly funded by the MRI program and the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).Specifically, this award funds the acquisition of a LECO TruMac Series CN Macro Determinator to analyze the carbon and nitrogen content of soils and sediments. This instrument will expand the research activities associated with the River Basins Research Initiative at Furman University to include studies of terrestrial, as well as aquatic, biogeochemistry. Initially, the instrument will be used to analyze soil samples from soil cores collected from farms in the South Carolina Piedmont. The primary objective of this research is to understand how intensive grazing and no-till planting improve soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil organic nitrogen (SON). One of the farms began intensive grazing in 2012, and changes in SOC and SON at different depths will be tracked over the next 10 years or more. A secondary objective is to quantify the potential for pasture soils to serve as carbon sinks.

土壤退化是一个重大的全球性环境问题。农业生态方法，如免耕耕作和密集放牧，有可能恢复土壤肥力，减少农业对环境的影响，并恢复土壤作为碳汇的功能。退化的牧场是地球上最普遍的土地覆盖之一，在南卡罗来纳州皮埃蒙特很常见，在提高农业生产力和固碳方面具有巨大潜力。该主要研究仪器（MRI）奖资助的分析设备将用于收集土壤碳数据，这将增加对当前和未来土壤质量的了解，以及它与南卡罗来纳州皮埃蒙特的牧场和城市草坪等土地利用的关系。更好地了解皮埃蒙特土壤的特性可能会导致土壤管理的改善，这反过来又会影响该地区的流域水文和水质。仪器采购的一个主要目标是培养本科生使用研究级仪器和解释数据，为就业和研究生教育做好准备。使用该仪器的学生将进行土壤生物地球化学研究，研究结果将直接使当地农民受益，以减轻土壤退化。学生将从与农民的互动中受益，了解农业生态系统对社会的重要性。除了涉及弗曼大学的本科生（主要是女性）外，研究人员还将通过已经实施的研究和教育计划让高中生参与进来。此外，弗曼在两个联盟的东南文科学院的成员提供了机会，涉及本科生从几个历史上的黑人学院。该项目由MRI项目和刺激竞争性研究实验项目（EPSCoR）共同资助。具体而言，该奖项资助购买LECO TruMac系列CN宏观测定仪，用于分析土壤和沉积物的碳和氮含量。这一工具将扩大与弗曼大学流域研究倡议有关的研究活动，以包括陆地和水生生物地球化学研究。最初，该仪器将用于分析从南卡罗来纳州皮埃蒙特农场收集的土壤样品。本研究的主要目的是了解集约放牧和免耕种植如何提高土壤有机碳（SOC）和土壤有机氮（SON）。其中一个农场于2012年开始密集放牧，在未来10年或更长时间内，将跟踪不同深度的SOC和SON的变化。第二个目标是量化牧场土壤作为碳汇的潜力。