Interviewed by STICH Scholar and Ecoss social media specialist Kayla Blair. Meet Vic Monsaint-Queeney, a PhD candidate in Bruce Hungate’s lab! Here, Vic studies bacteria in the soil on the San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff, where she looks at the different types of nitrogen that these microbes consume. The research involves […]
“As an historically underrepresented graduate student in biology, I believe that diversifying STEM fields highly depends on outreach programs. I became interested in helping create a more inclusive science space when I looked around my higher education classes and didn’t see the very diverse America I grew up in. As our […]
“My dad works for the Navajo EPA, so conversation about the land, nature, and environmental work on the Navajo Nation was common in our home,” said Harvey. Her family raised horses and cattle and developed their own management plan for grazing. For an ethnobotany project in high school, she explored […]
The magnitude of carbon (C) loss to the atmosphere via microbial decomposition is a function of the amount of C stored in soils, the quality of the organic matter, and physical, chemical, and biological factors that comprise the environment for decomposition. The decomposability of C is commonly assessed by laboratory […]
Leaf litter provides an important nutrient subsidy to headwater streams, but little is known about how tree genetics influences energy pathways from litter to higher trophic levels. Despite the charge to quantify carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pathways from decomposing litter, the relationship between litter decomposition and aquatic consumers remains […]
We report changes in nitrogen cycling in Florida scrub oak in response to elevated atmospheric CO2 during the first 14 months of experimental treatment. Elevated CO2 stimulated above-ground growth, nitrogen mass, and root nodule production of the nitrogen-fixing vine, Galactia elliottii Nuttall. During this period, elevated CO2 reduced rates of gross […]
The results of a 3-yr study on the effects of elevated CO2 on soil N and P, soil pCO2, and calculated CO2 efflux in a fire-regenerated Florida scrub oak ecosystem are summarized. We hypothesized that elevated CO2 would cause (i) increases in soil pCO2 and soil respiration and (ii) reduced […]
Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) often stimulates the growth of fine roots, yet there are few reports of responses of intact root systems to long-term CO2 exposure. We investigated the effects of elevated CO2 on fine root growth using open top chambers in a scrub oak ecosystem at Kennedy Space […]
Drought is a normal, recurrent feature of climate. In order to understand the potential effect of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration (C a) on ecosystems, it is essential to determine the combined effects of drought and elevated C a (EC) under field conditions. A severe drought occurred in Central Florida in […]
Hurricane disturbances have profound impacts on ecosystem structure and function, yet their effects on ecosystem CO2 exchange have not been reported. In September 2004, our research site on a fire-regenerated scrub-oak ecosystem in central Florida was struck by Hurricane Frances with sustained winds of 113 km h−1 and wind gusts as high […]