Recipient Organization
NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS UNIVERSITY
BOX 9000
LAS VEGAS,NM 87701
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
We are requesting funding to acquire a combustion elemental analyzer for analysis of soil and plant tissue samples to support forest, range, and agricultural management research. Faculty in the New Mexico Highlands University Department of Forestry are conducting research to compare carbon fluxes associated with different slash treatment methods used for the management of coarse woody debris from forestry operations aimed at reducing fuel loads and fire risk in forest and range ecosystems. Faculty in the New Mexico Reforestation Center in collaboration with New Mexico State University's and the University of New Mexico's Department of Biology are collaboratively researching carbon sequestration potential of reforestation operations in the U.S. Southwest as a function of tree seedling characteristics and planting practices. Finally, the Quivira Coalition is supporting land managers' efforts to improve soil health, which requires them to quantify soil fertility for properties throughout New Mexico. These research projects require chemical analysis of soil and plant samples. A combustion elemental analyzer is the standard equipment for this purpose. It can accurately and rapidly measure the carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and sulfur content of biophysical samples. However, at present, there are no facilities in northern New Mexico that can perform these analyses, requiring researchers to ship samples to distant external facilities--a costly expenditure undermining their ability to process the substantive numbers of samples. The purchase of this equipment would help researchers better the productivity and resilience of ecosystems in response to climate change, thereby serving the communities of northern New Mexico.
Animal Health Component
90%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
90%
Developmental
10%
Goals / Objectives
Use combustion elemental analyzer in research regarding forest and range managementTrain at least 1 graduate student every year in use of combustion elemental analyzer for Master's thesis research projectsUse combustion elemental analyzer to analyze carbon in soil samples in research comparing the efficacy of herbaceous seed mixes to control erosion in post-wildfire burn scarsUse combustion elemental analyzer to analyze carbon in char and biomass samples in research comparing carbon emissions from various approaches for reducing post-thinning fuel loads, including pile burns, broadcast burns, and biochar productionUse combustion elemental analyzer to analyze carbon in char and biomass samples in Hermit's and Calf Canyon Wildfire burn scarsUse combustion elemental analyzer to analyze carbon in char and biomass samples in research comparing carbon emissions from traditional Maya swidden agroforestry systemsUse combustion elemental analyzer to determine differences among ponderosa pine seed sources in foliar nitrogen and carbon concentrations using three common garden field provenance studiesUse combustion elemental analyzer to determine the impacts of nursery cultural practices on tree seedling nitrogen concentrations (which are reflective of seedling nutritional status) both during nursery production and after planting for reforestation purposes, as well as for directly quantifying the carbon concentration and contents of tree seedlings for purposes of more accurately modeling the carbon sequestration benefits and potential of reforestation operationsUse combustion elemental analyzer in teaching soil science and plant physiology courseworkTrain 10 students enrolled in Soil Science (FORS 4160/5160) at NMHU each year over the lifespan of the equipment to process samples and use the combustion elemental analyzer for analyzing soils for carbon and nitrogenTrain 10 students enrolled in Introduction to Plant Production (FORS 3060) at NMHU each year over the lifespan of the equipment to process samples and use the combustion elemental analyzer for analyzing plant biomass for carbon and nitrogenUse combustion elemental analyzer to help inform land managers' understanding of their land and make management recommendations to increase carbon storageTrain work study student to process and analyze samples collected by land managers in northern New Mexico for carbon and nitrogen
Project Methods
MethodsThe data that are expected to be gathered using this equipment as a part of applied forestry research are total, inorganic, and carbon content; nitrogen; and hydrogen content of plant biomass, char, and soil samples associated with the research projects described below. In all cases, biomass and soil samples will be oven dried at 100F for 24h. Soil samples will be ground and sieved to explude particles with diameter >0.002mm. Biomass and char samples ground and sieved to a particle size between 150-850um. Approximately 5-10mg of samples will be will be placed in a tin foil blank cup, which will then be crimped shut using tweezers and placed in the sampler. The mass of the blank cup, sample, and total packed sample will be recorded in a spreadsheet. When all samples are processed and prepared, the technician or researcher will run the the Costech Analytical Technologies ECS 4010 Nitrogen/Protein Analyzer, using either argon or helium gas as a carrier, depending on availability. The ECS 4010 will output the results, which can be exported to spreadsheet software.Effect of Thinning and Reforestation on Carbon Fluxes in Post-Wildfire LandscapesThis project aims to provide novel science-based solutions for private, tribal, state, and federal forest managers faced with the twin threat of catastrophic fires due to overgrown forests and the inability of post-fire plant communities and ecosystems to naturally regenerate. A part of this project is investigating how microsite environmental conditions influence vegetation community composition during succession after forest thinning operations. Analysis of soil, plant, litter, and woody debris samples to determine their carbon and nitrogen content will be a part of a broader assessment of physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of pre- and post-fire sites. In turn, this would inform and improve land managers' designs for thinning treatments that can reduce forest fuel loads to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires while also maintaining ecological productivity and facilitating carbon sequestration. In particular, the combustion analyzer obtained through this grant would allow quantification of carbon fluxes in burned ecosystems by analyzing plant, char, and soil samples collected in areas of different burn severity and historic management.Furthermore, the local availability of a combustion elemental analyzer would allow for much needed local analysis of carbon and nitrogen concentrations and contents in plant and soil samples at the New Mexico Reforestation Center. This capability would support ongoing and future research and operational needs for determining the impacts of nursery cultural practices on tree seedling nitrogen concentrations during nursery production and after planting for reforestation purposes, as well as for directly quantifying the carbon concentration and contents of tree seedlings for purposes of more accurately modeling the carbon sequestration benefits and potential of reforestation operations.Can Biochar Production Reduce Fuel Loads and Improve Soil Health in New Mexican Forests?This project will evaluate whether producing biochar from coarse woody debris stores more carbon for longer (as measured by the ratio of H:C) than other methods of disposing of slash from forest management operations (e.g., chipping, prescribed pile and broadcast burns, lop and scatter, etc.). This research will also compare slash treatment methods on the basis of their ability to maintain soil nutrient levels and reduce fuel loads. The combustion analyzer is essential to quantify the carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen of char and slash biomass for this research. It will also investigate different biochar application methods to reduce preferential erosion, which could limit the capacity of biochar to effectively sequester carbon in agricultural and forest ecosystems. A combustion analyzer will be necessary to quantify carbon of materials captured in erosion control devices. Both these projects strive to improve the soil health of the agricultural and forest ecosystems of northern New Mexico. In particular, they will improve the capacity of soils to sequester carbon in the long-term, a pressing issue given the impacts of land management on climate change, which is already undermining ecological productivity and increasing wildfire risk in northern New Mexico.Long-term Comparison of Post-Swidden Restoration Approaches in Tropical Maya Lowlands of Chiapas, MexicoThis project is comparing the efficacy of plantation-style and traditional agroforestry restoration to a control (i.e., passive restoration) has been managed by Lacandon Maya farmers in Lacanja Chansayab, Chiapas, Mexico and researchers from New Mexico Highlands University and SUNY ESF. Researchers have annually collected soil samples to evaluate how these restoration treatments have influenced soil fertility in terms of soil organic carbon and nitrogen. Using the elemental combustion analyzer obtained through this grant would allow this long-term research to continue, providing a uniquely long-term perspective on restoration, which is typically only monitored for five years (as opposed to the decade this site has been monitored thus far). It will help identify agroforestry tree species effective at restoring soil fertility while also providing non-timber and timber forest products to marginalized rural communities in degraded post-agricultural landscapes in the tropical lowlands of Chiapas, Mexico.Differences in Photosynthetic Capacity and Foliage Quality among Ponderosa Pine Seed ProvenancesThis project will determine differences among ponderosa pine seed sources in foliar nitrogen and carbon concentrations using three common garden field provenance studies. The garden field provenance study sites are located at the John Harrington Forestry Research Center in Mora, NM; the Arburetum at Flagstaff, AZ; and Brian Head, UT. These sites were established between 2012 and 2019, planting container-grown seedlings from various seed sources along an elevational gradient across Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico and watering them with various amounts of water to simulate different levels of drought stress. The use of elemental analyzer to determine nitrogen and carbon concentrations would provide insights about differences in photosynthetic capacity and foliage quality among these seed sources at each of these sites. These data would be used alongside a growing database of growth and a suite of leaf level physiological and structural traits to understand the mechanisms of establishment for planted ponderosa pine seedlings.Efforts and EvaluationTrained instructors in the NMHU Department of Forestry will lead students enrolled in Soil Science (FORS 4160/5160), and biomass analysis in Plant Production (FORS 3060) in learning about the use of the combustion elemental analyzer. This instruction will often be conducted using curriculum based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), in which students develop and implement semester-long research projects applying course concepts and familiarizing them with research processes and methods. The impact of this effort will be done through end-of-semester teaching evaluations, which will include a question assessing whether students feel prepared to use this equipment in their future employment.Quivira Coalition staff will lead land manager workshops/field days demonstrating the role of management in developing healthy soils, including advertising the use of this equipment to processs and analyze the soils of land managers in San Miguel and Mora counties. The data from these analyses will be provided to Quivira Coaltion, who can identify management actions to improve soil health. This will be evaluated by the number of land mangers who send in soil samples for analysis, as well as surveys administered by the Quivira Coalition to evaluate outreach program effectiveness.