Progress 06/01/23 to 05/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:During this first year of research we targeted the scientific community through research presentations that introduced the project background and goals. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has provided substantial training opportunities, significantly enhancing the technical skills and knowledge of all participants, including graduate students, post-doctoral associate, and several undergraduate students. Suraj Melkani and Manirakiza Noel graduate students from Dr. Jehangir Bhadha Soil, Water and Nutrient Management Lab, Everglades Research and Education Centre, were involved in the sample collection process and initial survey were actively involved in the sample collection and initial lab analyses, collaborating with Mumtahina Riza under Dr. Chambers. Mumtahina Riza also extensively analyzed the physicochemical properties of these samples. Her work included the soil physical fractionation, focusing on Water Stable Aggregates and MAOM, which are critical to understanding soil structure and stability. Finally, two female students, one PhD student and one undergraduate student in Environmental Engineering, worked with Dr. Hu in soil sampling and soil core setup design and test. They will be heavly involved in greenhouse gas emission sampling and measurement, MAOM and soil biogeochemical property measurement. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?To date, two presentations (one oral and one poster) have been presented with project goals and preliminary data. A manuscript on soil health indicators was also submitted to Ecological Indicators. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, Dr Hu's team will figure out the appropriate setup and methodology to collect and measure greenhouse gas emissions from the aforementioned soil cores. Following that, the team will initiate the 36-week soil core study to monitor the greenhouse gas emissions from soils under different soil amendment and hydrological treatments. The results from Objective 1 (the field observational study) will be written and submitted as a manuscript. Laboratory experiments will begin with identified soil amendments to see what materials can most efficiently reduce CO2 emissions and promote MAOM formation.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Year 1 efforts focused on objective 1- determining the natural abundance of MAOM in the cultivated Histosols of the Everglades Agricultural area (EAA) in Florida. Co-PI Bhadha works in the EAA and he and his graduate students led the effort in obtaining landowner consent to collect soil samples in agricultural fields across the EAA for analysis. Permission was granted by one of three major growers in the EAA, allowing us access to several hundred acres with diverse histories and crops, as well as a large spatial footprint. Dr. Bhadha and students have, to date, collected soils from 30+ locations and divided them into 3 depth sediments (0-15, 15-30, 30+ cm). Both PI Chambers and co-PI Jing traveled to the EAA with graduate students to tour the sampling area, assist in some of the sample collection, and have an in-person team meeting. Of the 30+ sampling locations, PI Chambers's lab chose a subset of 15 locations using stratified random sampling for intensive analysis. With the 3 soil depths, this represents 45 samples. To date, each sample has been analyzed for: Moisture Content %, pH, Organic Matter % (LOI), POXC (Active Carbon), Particle Size Analysis (for inorganic portion of soil), Water Stable Aggregates (wet sieve shaking), Total Carbon Total Nitrogen (TCTN for bulk soil). The collected soil samples were also assessed for soil health indicators in Soil, Water and Nutrient Management Lab, Everglades Research and Education Centre, University of Florida. Key soil health indicators measured included Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen, Active Carbon, Soil Protein, Cation Exchange Capacity, among others. In completion of Objective 1, the physical and density fractionation methods for quantifying MAOM were modified and optimized to produce consistent results for the unique soils of the EAA. We also finalized and submitted a manuscript about potassium permanganate oxidizable carbon as a parameter of interest in this study. In preparation to begin Objective 2, preliminary work to optimize the soil core setup to explore how sediment amendment and hydrological regimes affect MAOM formation and greenhouse gas emissions began. Major accomplishments included: 1. sectioning PVC pipes (10 cm inner diameter) to 50 cm in length. With these pipes, we planned to collect 5 soil cores to a depth of 40 cm in the EAA. In the field for sampling, we noticed that the soil depth in the EAA was around 30 cm, and it is impossible to push the PVC pipe any further after around 25 cm. Instead of collecting intact soil cores, we decided to collect the 0-30 cm soil by shovel and pack the soil into the PVC pipes according to the bulk density. This will be our soil sampling method for the official soil core study. 2. Optimizing the laboratory setup to ensure the water table could be well maintained under the desired flooded or drained situation. We cut the 15 cm inner diameter PVC pipes into 35 cm length and sealed them with PVC caps at the bottom. These pipes will work as a water reservoir to maintain the desired water table. We put 2 layers of pea gravel (size: ~2.0 cm) at the bottom of the 15-cm pipes. Then, the 10 cm inner diameter soil core pipe were placed on the gravel with 2 layers of 0.1 mm nylon mesh at the bottom. In order to avoid any vibration during gas sampling, the pipes were tighten to a stainless steel shelf. We tested the effectiveness of this setup on maintaining water table in the soil core by adding tap water and measuring the water table in the 15-cm pipe. Our test showed that this setup can maintain the water table to the desired level. Finally, literature review has begun to obtain sufficient background knowlege to select the best possible amnendments to use in Objective 2 studies.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Riza. M, Chambers. L, March 26th, 2024. How much soil carbon is protected in the Everglades Agricultural Area, Florida? Student Scholar Symposium, UCF, Florida. Poster
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Riza. M, Chambers. L, April 5th, 2024. Everglades Agricultural Area, Florida: The current status of stable carbon pool. Society of Wetland Scientists Student Virtual Conference. Oral
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Chambers, L.G., Mirabito, A.J., Brew, S., Nitsch, C.K., Bhabha, J.H., Hurst, N.R. and J.F. Berkowitz (in review) Evaluating permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC)s potential for differentiating carbon pools in wetland soils. Ecological Indicators
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