Semen is a major vector for HIV transmission, but the semen HIV RNA viral load (VL) only correlates moderately with the blood VL. Viral shedding can be enhanced by genital infections and associated inflammation, but it can also occur in the absence of classical pathogens. Thus, we hypothesized that a […]
Aim Recent meta-analyses have revealed that plant traits and their phylogenetic history influence decay rates of dead wood and leaf litter, but it remains unknown if decay rates of wood and litter covary over a wide range of tree species and across ecosystems. We evaluated the relationships between species-specific wood […]
Quantification of aboveground biomass (AGB) in Alaska’s boreal forest is essential to the accurate evaluation of terrestrial carbon stocks and dynamics in northern high-latitude ecosystems. Our goal was to map AGB at 30 m resolution for the boreal forest in the Yukon River Basin of Alaska using Landsat data and […]
Arizona and New Mexico receive half of their annual precipitation during the summer monsoon season, making this large-scale rain event critical for ecosystem productivity. We used the monsoon rains to explore the responses of soil bacterial and fungal communities to natural moisture pulses in a semiarid grassland. Through 454 pyrosequencing […]
Understanding when biodiversity conservation and ecosystem-service maintenance are compatible is needed within the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Here, we evaluate current understanding and uncertainties of the effects of biodiversity change on selected ecosystem services and suggest ways to further understand the links between biodiversity change and […]
The efficiency with which microbes use substrate (Carbon Use Efficiency or CUE) to make new microbial biomass is an important variable in soil and ecosystem C cycling models. It is generally assumed that CUE of microbial activity in soils is low, however measured values vary widely. It is hypothesized that […]
We study soil microbial communities in Antarctica, microbes in hot spring ecosystems in Tengchong, China, methane production at Axel Heiberg Island near Greenland as an analog for life on other planets, and the distribution of soil microbial communities across the arid Southwest.
Invasive plants like cheatgrass have huge and costly effects on ecosystems. Restoring native plants to areas invaded by cheatgrass is challenging, and one explanation for poor seedling establishment is the absence of beneficial soil microbes. In this project, we are testing the idea that restoring microbial communities promotes ecosystem recovery and the re-establishment of native plants.