Six Research Projects Selected for MONet Fall Soil Sampling

The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) recently selected six researchers to participate in fall soil sampling for the Molecular Observation Network (MONet).

This fall, the awarded principal investigators and research teams will collect 51 soil samples across the continental United States. The selected projects include tree cover, barren land, wetlands, and coastal land use.

After samples are collected, they will be sent to EMSL, where scientists will analyze them using standardized workflows to generate data for the publicly available MONet database.

EMSL, a Department of Energy, Office of Science user facility at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, developed MONet in 2023 to transform the understanding of soil processes by generating molecular and macroscale data and providing a new capability counteracting climate change. The MONet database is designed to advance a new generation of Earth system process models that cover ecosystems across the United States.

Researchers can submit MONet soil sampling proposals on a quarterly basis but are limited to one awarded MONet proposal per year. Proposal submissions for winter soil sampling will be accepted starting September 3.

Cassandra Collins 

University of California, Davis

Ecoregion: Pacific Northwest

Land use: Tree cover, barren land

Location: Polk Inlet Prince of Wales Island; Taku Harbor; and Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska

The weathering of silicate minerals is important to the global carbon cycle, influencing carbon fixation, sequestration, and soil carbon distribution. Microorganisms accelerate these weathering reactions, which are integral to the release and cycling of essential nutrients and metals. However, the impact of biologically driven mineral transformations is often underestimated in climate models and soil carbon estimates, particularly in forested ecosystems.

In this MONet project, researchers will study how climate and nutrient availability affect mineral weathering in the perhumid coastal temperate rainforests of southeast Alaska. The results aim to enhance understanding of biological controls on carbon cycling, improve climate models, and increase soil carbon stock accuracy.

Bradley Tolar 

University of North Carolina Wilmington

Ecoregion: Mid-Atlantic

Land use: Wetlands

Location: Wilmington, North Carolina

A team from the University of North Carolina Wilmington is leading research investigating wetland soil processes along a gradient within the Cape Fear River. They will compare microbial- and plant-driven ecosystem function across similar sites with distinct salinity and tidal conditions, determine key metabolites and osmolytes produced and exchanged between plants and microbes at each site, and observe seasonal shifts in carbon flux to form a baseline for future changing conditions in this region. Through this project, researchers will monitor processes into the future and observe how predicted changes will impact both microbial and plant communities, as well as their associated biogeochemical processes and chemical exchanges.

Sharon Billings 

University of Kansas

Ecoregion: Mid-Atlantic

Land use: Tree cover

Location: Union, South Carolina

Researchers will quantify how root extension versus disappearance modifies soil physical structure and the consequences of these processes for soil carbon, nutrient, and water flows through soil and across landscapes. This will help researchers refine predictions of ecosystem productivity and water quality in a changing climate.

Jared Wilmoth

University of Maryland, College Park

Ecoregion: Mid-Atlantic

Land use: Wetland

Location: Anne Arundel, Maryland

This project examines the rhizosphere of a tidal freshwater wetland populated by wild rice, a unique bioindicator species that is highly sensitive to environmental perturbations. Using EMSL’s advanced X-ray imaging and high-resolution chemical analysis will allow researchers to uncover how bioindicators like wild rice respond and adapt to accelerated sea level rise.

Jessica Rush

University of Colorado at Boulder

Ecoregion: Northern Rockies

Land use: Wetland

Location: Niwot Ridge, Colorado

Alpine wetlands are important areas of chemical processing on the landscape, but few studies have characterized different wetland types in alpine environments. This becomes an increasing issue as alpine ecosystems are experiencing the effects of rapid global change. This project will expand knowledge of three important soil types: subalpine wetlands, alpine wet meadows, and solifluction lobes at the Niwot Ridge Long-term Ecological Research Program site.

Matthew Berens

Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

Ecoregion: Southeast

Land use: Coastal

Location: Wax Lake Delta, Louisiana

Natural and anthropogenic stressors are rapidly altering biogeochemical processes in coastal soils. Efforts to model these changes are limited by the availability of data that capture the complex interactions of salinity, hydrology, sediment, and nutrients. In this MONet project, researchers will evaluate how hydrologic gradients in coastal wetlands undergoing degradation or growth influence biogeochemical processes and regulate carbon and nutrient cycling. The findings will help parameterize multiscale Earth system models used to simulate and predict changes in ecosystem processes and services in future climate scenarios.