Progress 04/01/09 to 09/30/13
Outputs
Target Audience: Scientists, university students,and general public.Knowledge was delivered to these groups through national and international conferences, seminar presentations, formal classroom and laboratory instruction, andtalks to general audiences. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This project provided training for five graduate students at New Mexico State University, one visiting student from Italy, an associate professor on sabbatical leave, and six undergraduate students. Keith Crossland (M.S.) David Rachal (Ph.D.) Darroc Goolsby (Ph.D.) Jeremy Klass (Ph.D.) Lauren Svejcar (M.S.) Marcella Catoni Ph.D. (Italy) Farhad Khormali (sabbatical) Ella McKinney (undergrad) Lidia Cepeda (undergrad) Charlene Carr (undergrad) Tiana Simons-McKinney (undergrad) Bojun Wu (undergrad) Adan Magallanes (undergrad) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? In addition, these results have been presented at international conferences in China and Spain, and at the Ecological and Geological Societies of America.The research was also presented at the World Congress of Soil Science 2010 in Brisbane, Australia and at five local seminars to the public interested in climate change and carbon sequestration. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
(1) Ecosystem Service #1: Carbon Sequestration. To quantify fluxes and understand mechanisms of carbon accumulation in desert soils. Experiments were set up to measure carbon sequestered via microbial biomineralization usingthree methods in desert soils of New Mexico, followed by a comparison to forest soils in New Mexico and Tennessee. First, we counted the number of soil microbes that can precipitate carbonate by culturing them on agar having pH and Ca levels known to be suitable for carbonate formation. Microbial calcification in the lab, however, is much different than microbial calcification in their natural habitat. For the second method, therefore, we injected liquid growth medium into an apparatus in soil and observed calcification using light and electron microscopy. The third method determined if not only microbes endemic to desert soils could precipitate carbonate, but also microbes in deciduous forest soils in the Southeastern U.S. For this we poured agar on ceramic tiles, covered it microscope slides, and inserted into the slightly acidic soils (pH 5.5-6.0) and monitored calcification with microscopy. We also grew bacteria in liquid medium and compared δ13C values of soil bacteria to the δ13C values of carbonate that they produced. These experiments and additional field research have resulted in an in-press journal article, an in-progress journal article, and a technical report: (a) Khormali, F., H.C. Monger, Y. Feng. (in press) Experimental micromorphology—a technique for investigating soil carbonate biogenesis along a desert-grassland-forest transect in New Mexico, USA. Spanish Journal of Soil Science. (b) Monger, H.C, Lindemann, W., Unc, A., Kraimer, R., Holguin, O., McKinney, E., and Feng, Y. (in progress) Biogenic carbonate and 13C/12C fractionation by soil microbes. To be submitted to PNAS. (c) Monger et al. 2014.Inventory of carbon sequestration organisms and biomineralization at White Sands National Monument and Guadalupe Mountains National Park. (d) Throop, H.L., S.R. Archer, H.C. Monger, S. Waltman. 2012. When bulk density methods matter: Implications for estimating soil organic carbon pools in rocky soils. Journal of Arid Environments 77:66-71 These accomplishments have increased knowledge in the scientific community that inorganic carbon sequestration in soil is a biological phenomenon. Adoption of this knowledge can lead to carbon sequestration that can help reduce carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuel. (2) Ecosystem Service #2: Resistance to Desertification. To identify soil-geomorphic units most resistant to woody shrub invasion and understand the extent and chronology of natural cycles of desertification. Mapping of soils and landforms and measuring carbon isotopes in buried soils of the Chihuahuan Desert of southern New Mexico were used to identify ecological feedback relationships to soils and geomorphology. These feedbacks are then used to make inferences about paleoclimate and paleoecology as a means to better understand modern climate change and the impact of prehistoric climate change on native people. This research resulted in ten journal articles: (a) Monger, H.C. and D.M. Rachal. 2013. Soil and landscape memory of climate change: how sensitive, how connected? Society of Sedimentary Geology Special Publication 104. p.63-70. (b) Michaud, G.A., H.C. Monger, D.L. Anderson. 2013. Geomorphic-vegetation relationships using a geopedological classification system, northern Chihuahuan Desert, USA. Journal of Arid Environments 90:45-54 (c) Rachal, D.M., H.C. Monger, G.S. Okin, and D.P.C. Peters. 2012. Landform influences on the resistance of grasslands to shrub encroachment, Northern Chihuahuan Desert, USA. Journal of Maps DOI:10.1080/17445647.2012.727593 (d) Monger, H.C., B.J. Buck, J.W. Hawley, and D.M. Rachal. 2012. Geochronology of the Bolson sand sheet, New Mexico and Texas, and its archaeological significance: Discussion. Geological Society of America Bulletin 124:1552-1556. doi: 10.1130/B30517.1 (e) Weems, S.L. and H.C. Monger. 2012. Banded vegetation-dune formation in the Medieval Warm Period and 20th Century, Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, USA. Ecosphere: March 2012, Volume 3(3) Article 21 (f) Kidron, G., H.C. Monger, A. Vonshak, and W. Conrod. 2012 Contrasting effects of microbiotic crusts on runoff from desert surfaces. Geomorphology139-140:484-494. (g) Duniway, M.C., J.E. Herrick, and H.C. Monger. 2010. Spatial and temporal variability of plant-available water in calcium carbonate cemented soils and consequences for arid ecosystem resilience. Oecologia 163:215-226. (h) Peters, D.P.C., J.E. Herrick, H.C. Monger, and H. Huang. 2010. Soil-vegetation-climate interactions in arid landscapes: effects of the North American monsoon on grass recruitment. Journal of Arid Environments 74:618-623. (i) Monger, H.C., D.R. Cole, B.J. Buck, and R.A. Gallegos. 2009. Scale and the isotopic record of C4 plants in pedogenic carbonate: from the biome to the rhizosphere. Ecology 90:1498-1511. (k) Kraimer, R.A. and H.C. Monger. 2009. Carbon isotopic subsets of soil carbonate?a particle-size comparison of limestone and igneous parent materials. Geoderma 150:1-9. These studies of desertification, both modern and prehistoric, have increased awareness in the scientific community about the expansion and contraction the Chihuahuan Desert in the late Quaternary. Adoption of this knowledge can lead to a better understanding of how climate change affected prehistoric people. 3) Human Impacts. To incorporate broad-scale human activities into desert soil-geomorphic-ecology models. Studies were conducted to understand the relationships between humans and ecosystem services. These resulted in four publications: (a) Monger, H.C. and P. H. Cooke. 2013. Soil micromorphology and the Anthropocene—cross-scale connections and technology trends. Spanish Journal of Soil Science 3:1-13. (b) Peters, D.P.C., S.A. Archer, B.T. Bestelmeyer, M.L. Brooks, J.R. Brown, A.C. Comrie, H.R. Gimblett, J.H. Goldstein, K.M. Havstad, L. López-Hoffman, H.C. Monger, G.S. Okin, A. Rango, O.E. Sala, C.E. Tweedie, E.R. Vivoni. 2013. Vulnerability of Ecosystem Services to Cumulative Threats That Result in Desertification. Pages 239-258. In: T.R. Seastedt and K.N. Suding, eds. Ecosystem Functions and Services: Volume 5 In: R.A. Pielke, Sr. Editor-in-Chief. Climate Vulnerability: Understanding and Addressing Threats to Essential Resources. Elsevier. (c) Monger, H.C., R.J. Southard, and J.L. Boettinger. 2011. Classification of Soils. p. 33-1 to 34-1. Aridisols. In: P.M. Huang, Y. Li and M.E. Sumner (eds.) Handbook of Soil Science. 2nd Edition. CRC Press, Boca Raton. (d) Peters, D.P.C., B.T. Bestelmeyer, A.K. Knapp, J.E. Herrick, H.C. Monger, and K.M.Havstad. 2009. Approaches to predicting broad-scale regime shifts using changing pattern-process relationships across scales. p 47-72. In: S. Miao, S. Carstenn, and M. Nungesser, eds. Real World Ecology: Large-scale and Long-term Case Studies and Methods. Springer, New York. These studies increase awareness about humans as a soil-forming factor and how global human activity is a complex adaptive system.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Michaud, G., Monger, H. C., Anderson, D. (2013). Geomorphic-vegetation relationships using a geopedological classification system, northern Chihuahuan Desert, USA. Journal of Arid Environments, 90, 45-54.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Monger, H. C., Cooke, P. (2013). Soil micromorphology and the Anthropocenecross-scale connections and technology trends. Spanish Journal of Soil Science, 3, 1-13.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Monger, H. C., Rachal, D. (2013). Soil and landscape memory of climate change: how sensitive, how connected? In Steve Drise and Lee Nordt (Ed.), Society of Sedimentary Geology Special Publication 104 (vol. 104, pp. 63-70).
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Khormali, F., H.C. Monger, Y. Feng. (in press) Experimental micromorphologya technique for investigating soil carbonate biogenesis along a desert-grassland-forest transect in New Mexico, USA. Spanish Journal of Soil Science.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Monger, H.C. (in press). Soils as generators and sinks of inorganic carbon in geologic time. p. xx-xx. In: A.E. Hartemink and K. McSweeney, eds. Soil Carbon. Springer.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Peters, D., et al. (2013). Desertification of Rangelands. In R.A. Pielke (Ed.), Climate Vulnerability: Understanding and Addressing Threats to Essential Resources (pp. 239-258).
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Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Three Ph.D. students are working on various aspects of this project graduated in 2012: David Rachal, Jeremy Klass (co-advise with Deb Peters), and Darroc Goolsby (co-advise with Brandon Bestelmeyer). Two M.S. students graduated: Keith Crossland (co-advise with Jeff Herrick), and Lauren Svejcar (co-advise with Brandon Bestelmeyer). Currently, one M.S. student is working this project: Ella McKinney. Progress was made by completing 5 journal articles that are now published. Recognition of progress made on desert soils consisted of three keynote presentations, x invited presentation, and guest editor of the International Meeting on Soil Micromorphology published by the Spanish Journal of Soil Science. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Investigations of this project on desert soils have broad impacts because desert soils are vast and fragile. Desert soils cover about one-third of the Earth's land surface, so perturbations and management strategies will have major implications for carbon storage or emissions. Desert soils--especially sandy soils--are major sources of dust. If vegetative cover is disturbed a series of feedbacks begin to cascade causing drastic changes in vegetation, which in turn lead to changes in the entire ecosystem.
Publications
- Rachal, D. M., Monger, H. C., Okin, G. S., Peters, D. P.C. (2012). Landform influences on the resistance of grasslands to shrub encroachment, northern Chihuahuan Desert, USA.. Journal of Maps. dx.doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2012.727593.
- Monger, H. C., Buck, B. J., Hawley, J. W., Rachal, D. M. (2012). Geochronology of the bolson sand sheet, New Mexico and Texas, and its archaeological significance: Discussion.. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 124, 1552-1556.
- Weems, S. L., Monger, H. C. (2012). Banded vegetation-dune formation in the Medieval Warm Period and 20th Century, Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, USA. Ecosphere, 3. dx.doi.org/10.1890/ ES11-00194.1
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Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Three Ph.D. students are working on various aspects of this project: David Rachal, Jeremy Klass (co-advise with Deb Peters), and Darroc Goolsby (co-advise with Brandon Bestelmeyer). There are also four M.S. students: Katie Laney, Keith Crossland (co-advise with Jeff Herrick), Noemi Baquera (co-advise with Jeff Herrick), Lauren Svejcar (co-advise with Brandon Bestelmeyer). Noemi Baquera graduated in December. Progress was also been made in writing results of this project by completing two book chapters that are now in press: (1) Monger, H.C., R.J. Southard, and J.L. Boettinger. Aridisols. In: P. Huang (ed.) Handbook of Soil Science. 2nd Edition. CRC Press, Boca Raton, and (2) Nordt, L., M.E. Collins, D.S. Fanning, and H.C. Monger. Entisols. To be published in the same volume. Recognition of progress made on desert soils consisted of (1) 2010 National Cooperative Soil Survey Achievement Award presented to Curtis Monger by the National Director of the NRCS Soil Survey Division and (2) because of his expertise in desert soils, Curtis Monger was selected as one of 14 soil scientists to begin developing a Universal Soil Classification System for the International Union of Soil Scientists. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Investigations of this project on desert soils have broad impacts because desert soils are vast and fragile. Desert soils cover about one-third of the Earth's land surface, so perturbations and management strategies will have major implications for carbon storage or emissions. Desert soils--especially sandy soils--are major sources of dust. If vegetative cover is disturbed a series of feedbacks begin to cascade causing drastic changes in vegetation, which in turn lead to changes in the entire ecosystem.
Publications
- Duniway, M.C., J.E. Herrick, and H.C. Monger. 2010. Spatial and temporal variability of plant-available water in calcium carbonate cemented soils and consequences for arid ecosystem resilience. Oecologia 163:215-226.
- Peters, D.P.C., J.E. Herrick, H.C. Monger, and H. Huang. 2010. Soil-vegetation-climate interactions in arid landscapes: effects of the North American monsoon on grass recruitment. Journal of Arid Environments 74:618-623.
- Durand, N., H.C. Monger, and M.G. Canti. 2010. Calcium carbonate features. In: G. Stoops, V. Marcelino and F. Mees (Eds), Interpretation of micromorphological features of soils and regoliths. Elsevier, pp. 149-194.
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Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: a). To advance our understanding of desertification and soil-geomorphology, a $15,000-grant was submitted to and funded by the NSF-Office of International Science and Engineering via Jornada Basin LTER Supplement entitled: Desertification processes in Inner Mongolia and the US: Impact of the soil-geomorphic template on ecosystem-landscape feedbacks. From this funding, PI Curtis Monger organized a trip to observe desertification in Inner Mongolia for three U.S. scientists (Monger plus Brenda Buck-University of Nevada, Chien Lu Ping-University of Alaska) and two graduate students (Amanda Williams and Colin Robin-Univ of Nevada). Monger also chaired and organized two overarching symposia at the 2008 joint meeting of the Soil Science Society of America and the Geological Society of America entitled Geobiology and Biomineralization and Human Impact on the Stratigraphic Record. Similarly, he chaired and organized Interactions between Organisms, Fabrics, and Minerals at the 13th International Conference on Soil Micromorphology in Chengdu, China. In addition, he hosted a national Soil-Geomorphology Institute at NMSU in March, 2008. This 3-week institute brought professional soil scientists from around the United States to New Mexico State University. He created with Barbara Nolen of the Jornada Basin NSF-LTER a digital topographic map showing the boundary of the Chihuahuan Desert based on Schmidt's (1979) climatic data and made it available on Jornada Basin LTER website. Monger is currently working with Miguel Dominguez of the University of Juarez and Tom Gill of University of Texas-El Paso on identifying dust sources using x-ray diffraction and working with students from the University of Mexico City to create a map of the soils and landforms of the prairie dog towns near Janos, Mexico, and he is working with colleagues Alfredo Granados (Univ. Juarez) and Juan Martinez (Univ. Durango) to make landform map of Chihuahuan Desert in Mexico. b). Work completed on prehistoric climate change involved the M.S. thesis by Janella Cruz entitled Bioclimatic changes recorded in Holocene soils at the Jornada Basin LTER site and Lincoln National Forest, southern New Mexico. In addition, a high-profile journal article by Monger et al entitled Scale and the isotopic record of C4 plants in pedogenic carbonate-from the biome to the rhizosphere was accepted by the journal Ecology. c). Undergraduate students working with Curtis Monger completed lab experiments that simulated carbon sequestration by pedogenic carbonate. This work was presented by Sarah Ricketts-Work at the New Mexico State University Honors College Undergraduate Research Symposium, May 2008. Also, a poster on carbon sequestration by pedogenic carbonate was given by Monger to the Western Cooperative Soil Survey meeting in Spokane, June 2008. Another M.S. student, Justin Riggs, completed a thesis on gypsum, which is present in many desert soils and affects inorganic carbon sequestration by it role in calcium dynamics. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Information derived from this project was disseminated in seven invited and two volunteered presentations by Monger and four presentations by his graduate students.
Publications
- Williams, A., C. Robins, B.J. Buck, and H.C. Monger. 2008. Common ground: discovering a shared purpose in Inner Mongolia. Soil Survey Horizons (Winter Issue) 96-97.
- Peters, D.P.C., B.T. Bestelmeyer, A.K. Knapp, J.E. Herrick, H.C. Monger, and K.M. Havstad. 2009. Approaches to predicting broad-scale regime shifts using changing pattern-process relationships across scales. p 47-72 in S. Miao, S. Carstenn, and M. Nungesser, eds. Real world ecology: large-scale and long-term case studies and methods. Springer, New York.
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