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1. Patch growth of seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum) treated with inorganic fertilizer and organic biostimulant

   https://doi.org/10.17352/ojeb.000041  

   Madison_L, Meagher; Ambrose_O, Anoruo; Benjamin_L, Turner; Paul_W, Holland; Shad_D, Nelson; Maria_C, Donato-Molina (January 2024, Open Journal of Environmental Biology)

   Inorganic fertilizers are often used in the United States in golf courses putting green maintenance. We used milled plant biomass on putting greens to test the hypothesis that organic biostimulants used in putting green maintenance can achieve similar results as inorganic fertilizers. Dilapidated putting greens, #4 and #14, with conspicuous patches at the L.E. Ramey Golf Course in Kingsville, TX, were selected for the study. Each green was split in half with one half selected for treatment and the other half maintained as the control and treated with NPK. Milled Medicago sativa L. mixed with milled high auxin-containing plant species in a ratio of 10:1 was used to test the hypothesis. The mixture was applied in the bio-treated section of the two greens while the golf course management continued to apply inorganic fertilizers on the control section of the study greens. Patch count on the greens was conducted once a week utilizing a randomly placed 1 by 1 m quadrant. Also, soil moisture measurement was taken twice a week on the greens to understand soil moisture retention due to the treatments. Patch count indicates that the bio-treated sections grew and filled significantly faster than the sections treated with inorganic fertilizers. Regression analysis of data collected between July 13th and July 27th indicates a strong linear biostimulant/patch growth relationship (R2 = 0.75 and 0.92) on Greens #4 and #14 respectively. Also, soil moisture data indicates significantly higher moisture retention on the putting green sections treated with the biostimulant. 

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2. NRCS-USFS Soil Moisture Measurements - Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, 2023-2025

   https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/2eb8ea3a25e81ead1188af94ccfede72  

   NRCS-USFS_Forest_Soil_Moisture_Monitoring_Network (August 2025, Environmental Data Initiative)

   This dataset consists of soil moisture (volumetric water content and water potential), temperature, and electrical conductivity measurements at multiple depths within 12 soil pedons distributed across Watersheds 3, 6, and 9 at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest from July 2023 to June 2025. This work is a part of the Forest Soil Moisture Monitoring Network (FSMMN), which is an interagency partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to install, monitor and generate long-term soil moisture datasets across multiple forested watersheds in the U.S. Dataset contributors: Hubbard Brook site selection and project planning was conducted by Amanda Pennino (NRCS), Scott Bailey (Virginia Tech) and Mark Green (Case Western). Site visits, data downloading, and logger maintenance was by Lucy Zendzian (NRCS), Paul Gadecki (NRCS), and Jack Ferrara (NRCS). The dataset was curated by Emily Piche (USFS, ORISE) and Amanda Pennino (NRCS). Overall partnership initiation and project management was by Stephanie Connolly (USFS) and Skye Wills (NRCS). 

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3. Satellite Tracking of Head-Started Juvenile Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) Reveals Release Effects and an Ontogenetic Shift

   https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13071218  

   Barbour, Nicole; Bailey, Helen; Fagan, William F.; Mustin, Walter; Baboolal, Vandanaa; Casella, Francesca; Candela, Tony; Gaspar, Philippe; Williamson, Sean; Turla, Emily; et al (April 2023, Animals)

   Juveniles of marine species, such as sea turtles, are often understudied in movement ecology. To determine dispersal patterns and release effects, we released 40 satellite-tagged juvenile head-started green turtles (Chelonia mydas, 1–4 years) from two separate locations (January and July 2023) off the coast of the Cayman Islands. A statistical model and vector plots were used to determine drivers of turtle directional swimming persistence and the role of ocean current direction. More than half (N = 22) effectively dispersed in 6–22 days from the islands to surrounding areas. The January turtles radiated out (185–1138 km) in distinct directions in contrast to the northward dispersal of the July turtles (27–396 km). Statistical results and vector plots supported that daily swimming persistence increased towards the end of tracks and near coastal regions, with turtles largely swimming in opposition to ocean currents. These results demonstrate that captive-reared juvenile greens have the ability to successfully navigate towards key coastal developmental habitats. Differences in dispersal (January vs. July) further support the importance of release timing and location. Our results inform conservation of the recovering Caymanian green turtles and we advise on how our methods can be improved and modified for future sea turtle and juvenile movement ecology studies. 

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4. Soil Carbon Dioxide Flux Partitioning in a Calcareous Watershed With Agricultural Impacts

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JG006379  

   Hodges, Caitlin; Brantley, Susan L.; Sharifironizi, Melika; Forsythe, Brandon; Tang, Qicheng; Carpenter, Nathan; Kaye, Jason (October 2021, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences)

   Abstract Predicting the partitioning between aqueous and gaseous C across landscapes is difficult because many factors interact to control carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations and removal as dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). For example, carbonate minerals buffer soil pH and allow CO₂dissolution in porewaters, but nitrification of fertilizers may decrease pH so that carbonate weathering results in a gaseous CO₂efflux. Here, we investigate CO₂partitioning in an agricultural, first‐order, mixed‐lithology humid, temperate watershed. We quantified soil mineralogy and measured porewater chemistry, soil moisture, and soil pCO₂and pO₂as a function of depth at three hillslope positions. Variation of soil moisture along the hillslope was the dominant control on the concentration of soil CO₂, but mineralogy acted as a secondary control on the partitioning of CO₂between gaseous and aqueous phases. Regression slopes of pCO₂versus pO₂in the carbonate‐bearing soils indicate a deficit of aerobically respired CO₂relative to O₂(p < 0.05). Additionally, nitrification of upslope fertilizers did not lower soil pH and therefore did not cause a gaseous CO₂flux from carbonate weathering. We concluded that in the calcareous soils, up to 43% of respired C potentially dissolves and drains from the soil rather than diffusing out to the atmosphere. To explore the possible implications of the reactions we evaluated, we used databases of carbonate minerals and land uses to map types of soil degassing behaviors. Based on our maps, the partitioning of respired soil CO₂to the aqueous phase could be important in estimating ecosystem C budgets and models. 

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5. Investigating potential hydrological ecosystem services in urban gardens through soil amendment experiments and hydrologic models

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-021-01191-7  

   Chapman, Eric J.; Small, Gaston E.; Shrestha, Paliza (January 2022, Urban Ecosystems)

   Abstract Among the ecosystem services provided by urban greenspace are the retention and infiltration of stormwater, which decreases urban flooding, and enhanced evapotranspiration, which helps mitigate urban heat island effects. Some types of urban greenspace, such as rain gardens and green roofs, are intentionally designed to enhance these hydrologic functions. Urban gardens, while primarily designed for food production and aesthetic benefits, may have similar hydrologic function, due to high levels of soil organic matter that promote infiltration and water holding capacity. We quantified leachate and soil moisture from experimental urban garden plots receiving various soil amendments (high and low levels of manure and municipal compost, synthetic fertilizer, and no inputs) over three years. Soil moisture varied across treatments, with highest mean levels observed in plots receiving manure compost, and lowest in plots receiving synthetic fertilizer. Soil amendment treatments explained little of the variation in weekly leachate volume, but among treatments, high municipal compost and synthetic fertilizer had lowest leachate volumes, and high and low manure compost had slightly higher mean leachate volumes. We used these data to parameterize a simple mass balance hydrologic model, focusing on high input municipal compost and no compost garden plots, as well as reference turfgrass plots. We ran the model for three growing seasons under ambient precipitation and three elevated precipitation scenarios. Garden plots received 12–16% greater total water inputs compared to turfgrass plots because of irrigation, but leachate totals were 20–30% lower for garden plots across climate scenarios, due to elevated evapotranspiration, which was 50–60% higher in garden plots. Within each climate scenario, difference between garden plots which received high levels of municipal compost and garden plots which received no additional compost were small relative to differences between garden plots and turfgrass. Taken together, these results indicate that garden soil amendments can influence water retention, and the high-water retention, infiltration, and evapotranspiration potential of garden soils relative to turfgrass indicates that hydrologic ecosystem services may be an underappreciated benefit of urban gardens. 

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