The goal of the New Hampshire Soil Sensor Network is to examine spatial and temporal changes in soil properties and processes as the climate changes. Data collected can also calibrate and validate models that examine how ecosystems may respond to changing climate and land use. To determine how soil processes are affected by climate change and land management, this soil sensor network measures snow depth, air temperature, soil temperature, soil volumetric water content, and soil electrical conductivity, as well as soil CO2 fluxes. This data package includes data from the air temperature, soil temperature, soil volumetric water content, and electrical conductivity sensors. Data were collected at the following sites: BRT = Bartlett Experimental Forest, Bartlett, NH; BDF = Burley-Demmerit Farm, Lee, NH; DCF = Dowst Cate Forest, Deerfield, NH; HUB = Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, Woodstock, NH; SBM = Saddleback Mountain, Deerfield, NH; THF = Thompson Farm, Durham, NH; and Trout Pond Brook, Strafford, NH.
more »
« less
Soil and plant biogeochemical and soil temperature variables collected at brown lemming (Lemmus trimucronatus) and tundra vole (Microtus oeconomus) structure sties near Nome, Toolik Lake, and Utqaigvik, Alaska, summer 2018-2020
Soil and plant sampling analysis under small mammal-built structures and controls sites from near the Team Vole fences: Nome, Toolik, Utqiagvik, AK 2018-2020.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1603777
- PAR ID:
- 10490009
- Publisher / Repository:
- Environmental Data Initiative
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Nome, Toolik Lake and Utqaigvik, Alaska
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract Long‐term soil warming can decrease soil organic matter (SOM), resulting in self‐reinforcing feedback to the global climate system. We investigated additional consequences of SOM reduction for soil water holding capacity (WHC) and soil thermal and hydrological buffering. At a long‐term soil warming experiment in a temperate forest in the northeastern United States, we suspended the warming treatment for 104 days during the summer of 2017. The formerly heated plot remained warmer (+0.39 °C) and drier (−0.024 cm3H2O cm−3soil) than the control plot throughout the suspension. We measured decreased SOM content (−0.184 g SOM g−1for O horizon soil, −0.010 g SOM g−1for A horizon soil) and WHC (−0.82 g H2O g−1for O horizon soil, −0.18 g H2O g−1for A horizon soil) in the formerly heated plot relative to the control plot. Reduced SOM content accounted for 62% of the WHC reduction in the O horizon and 22% in the A horizon. We investigated differences in SOM composition as a possible explanation for the remaining reductions with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. We found FTIR spectra that correlated more strongly with WHC than SOM, but those particular spectra did not differ between the heated and control plots, suggesting that SOM composition affects WHC but does not explain treatment differences in this study. We conclude that SOM reductions due to soil warming can reduce WHC and hydrological and thermal buffering, further warming soil and decreasing SOM. This feedback may operate in parallel, and perhaps synergistically, with carbon cycle feedbacks to climate change.more » « less
-
Abstract Predators can alter the movement of nutrients through ecosystems by depositing waste products following predation. Whilst the benefits of predator waste for large predators (e.g. bears) or dense accumulations of predators (e.g. seabirds on islands) seem clear, less is known about whether smaller, solitary predators can have measurable effects on local ecosystem processes.In separate experiments with web‐building and wandering spiders, we tested if the presence of predators affected soil nutrient content, soil respiration, soil microbial communities, and plant growth.In the first experiment with black widow spiders, total nitrogen and nitrate were not affected by spider presence, but ammonia and phosphorus were higher from soil under the edge of the spider web than soil away from the spider. Soil respiration and plant growth were both higher in soil collected from under the spider retreat compared with soil collected away from the spider web.In a second experiment with wolf spiders, we tested for interactions between spiders and soil microbial communities. There were positive effects of wolf spider presence on all soil nutrients and there were interactions between spiders and soil type (i.e. field‐collected versus autoclaved) for total carbon, total nitrogen, nitrate, and pH. Spider presence and soil type also affected soil respiration and spider presence had a large effect on the composition of the microbial community of the soil. There were also positive effects of wolf spider presence on plant biomass and plant height, with a significant interaction between spiders and soil type for plant height.Overall, our results show that two spiders with different life histories (i.e. web‐building and wandering) both have significant positive effects on plant growth through the deposition of their waste products. These effects may occur through the direct deposition of nutrients and changes in soil microbial communities. Although, further work is needed to resolve these interactions. Read the freePlain Language Summaryfor this article on the Journal blog.more » « less
-
Abstract Monitoring soil nitrogen (N) dynamics in agroecosystems is foundational to soil health management and is critical for maximizing crop productivity in contrasting management systems. The newly established soil health indicator, autoclaved‐citrate extractable (ACE) protein, measures an organically bound pool of N. However, the relationship between ACE protein and other N‐related soil health indicators is poorly understood. In this study, ACE protein is investigated in relation to other soil N measures at four timepoints across a single growing season along a 33‐year‐old replicated eight‐system management intensity gradient located in southwest Michigan, USA. On average, polyculture perennial systems that promote soil health had two to four times higher (2–12 g kg−1higher) ACE protein concentrations compared to annual cropping and monoculture perennial systems. In addition, ACE protein fluctuated less than total soil N, NH4+‐N, and NO3−‐N across the growing season, which shows the potential for ACE protein to serve as a reliable indicator of soil health and soil organic N status. Furthermore, ACE protein was positively correlated with total soil N and NH4+‐N and negatively correlated with NO3−‐N at individual sampling timepoints across the management intensity gradient. In addition, ACE protein, measured toward the end of the growing season, showed a consistent and positive trend with yield across different systems. This study highlights the potential for ACE protein as an indicator of sustainable management practices, SOM cycling, and soil health and calls for more studies investigating its relationship with crop productivity.more » « less
An official website of the United States government
