Doctoral Dissertation Research: Soil Resource Aggregation and Ecosystem Function

氮肥的使用极大地增加了全球粮食产量。尽管如此，氮肥的使用也会对水、空气和土壤质量产生负面影响。调节生态系统中氮素运动的许多过程已经确定；然而，环境的异质性使得预测这些过程在田间的行为变得困难。到目前为止，研究氮素循环过程的策略在很大程度上忽略了空间异质性在调节土壤有机质分解及其相关氮素释放等重要过程中的作用。这项建议旨在更好地了解异质性如何影响土壤微生物过程、植物根系生长和植物对氮素的获取。这项研究的结果将为复杂系统中生物地球化学循环速率的预测增加重要的洞察力。他们还将帮助密歇根南部地区的K-12科学教师培训和农业土地管理方面的外展工作。

The use of nitrogen fertilizers has dramatically increased food production globally. Nonetheless, nitrogen fertilizer use can also have negative impacts on water, air, and soil quality. Many of the processes that regulate nitrogen movement in ecosystems have been determined; however, environmental heterogeneity makes predicting the behavior of these processes in the field difficult. To date, strategies to examine nitrogen cycle processes have largely ignored the role of spatial heterogeneity for regulating important processes such as soil organic matter decomposition and its associated nitrogen release. This proposal seeks to better understand how heterogeneity affects soil microbial processes, plant root growth, and nitrogen acquisition by plants. Results from this research will add significant insight into predictions of biogeochemical cycling rates in complex systems. They will also aid outreach efforts in K-12 science teacher training and agricultural land management in the southern Michigan area.