Root exudation is increasingly being recognized as an important driver of ecosystem processes; however, few studies have examined the degree to which variations in exudate stoichiometry and soil resources affect microbial controls of nutrient availability and decomposition. We added root exudate mimics of varying chemical quality to soils collected from two adjacent forest stands (one a 70 year...

Precision agriculture technologies have potential for improving soil fertility evaluation and nutrient management. Global positioning systems (GPS), yield monitors, various forms of remote sensing, geographical information system (GIS) software, and variable rate technology are available to producers. Intensive soil sampling, crop scouting, and other practices complete the new technological pac...

The effects of environmental change on soil animal communities are poorly known. Norwegian mountains are subject to both atmospheric nitrogen deposition and increased temperature. In a nutrient poor alpine Dryas heath in south Norway, soil arthropods were studied after 4 years of simulated environmental change by warming and/or nutrient addition. Warming alone only affected three low-density Co...

Resource availability can affect the coevolutionary dynamics between host and parasites, shaping communities and hence ecosystem function. A key finding from theoretical and in vitro studies is that host resistance evolves to greater levels with increased resources, but the relevance to natural communities is less clear. We took two complementary approaches to investigate the effect of resource...

Acidic deposition and subsequent forest soil acidification and nutrient depletion can affect negatively the growth, health and nutrient content of vegetation, potentially limiting the availability and nutrient content of forage for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and other forest herbivores. Liming is a mitigation technique that can be used to restore forest health in acidified areas...

Concerns for the mounting supply of municipal solid waste being generated combined with decreasing landfill space have compelled military installations to evaluate alternative methods for disposal. One approach to reduce landfilling is the use of a new garbage-processing technology that sterilizes and separates the waste into inorganic and organic components. Thus, a study was initiated to eval...

It is commonly assumed that the nitrogen to phosphorus (N:P) ratio of a terrestrial plant reflects the relative availability of N and P in the soil in which the plant grows. Here, this was assessed for a tropical pioneer tree, Ficus insipida. Seedlings were grown in sand and irrigated with nutrient solutions containing N:P ratios ranging from <1 to >100. The experimental design further allowed ...

Human-caused alterations of the carbon and nutrient cycles are expected to impact tropical ecosystems in the near future. Here we evaluated how a combined change in carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availability affects soil and litter microbial respiration and litter decomposition in an undisturbed Amazonian rainforest in French Guiana. In a fully factorial C (as cellulose), N (as ur...

Climate change will result in reduced soil water availability in much of the world either due to changes in precipitation or increased temperature and evapotranspiration. How communities of mites and nematodes may respond to changes in moisture availability is not well known, yet these organisms play important roles in decomposition and nutrient cycling processes. We determined how communities ...

Sediment deposition is the main mechanism of nutrient delivery to tidal freshwater marshes (TFMs). We quantified sediment nutrient accumulation in TFMs upstream and downstream of a proposed water withdrawal project on the Mattaponi River, Virginia. Our goal was to assess nutrient availability by comparing relative rates of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) accumulated in sediments wi...