Stable isotopes to study nutrient cycling in soils.
EMSL Project ID
2396
Abstract
Studying nutrient cycling in soils is important from economic and environmental perspectives. Our research has focused on the use of stable C and N isotopes to trace soil chemical processes and biogeochemical nutrient cycling, particularly at the sub-mm scale. We believe that the understanding of these processes at these scales will better enable us to understand them at landscape scales and thus provide more refined management strategies. Work already performed in collaboration at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has provided evidence that the physiochemical processes that control the cycling of nutrients is potentially controlled at the microscopic scale. We propose to use the unique analytical capabilities available at EMSL to study soils at small spatial scales to study the role and origin of soil microsite heterogeneities in soil nutrient cycling. Further, we will use these nutrients as model systems to understand the controls on reaction and transport of other nutrients and pollutants.
Project Details
Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2001-12-04
End Date
2004-12-07
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members
Related Publications
Cliff JB, DJ Gaspar, PJ Bottomley, and DD Myrold. 2002. "Exploration of Inorganic C and N Assimilation by Soil Microbes with Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry." Applied and Environmental Microbiology 68(8):4067-4073.
Cliff JB, DJ Gaspar, PJ Bottomley, and DD Myrold. 2004. "Peak Fitting to Resolve CN-Isotope Ratios in Biological and Environmental Samples using TOF-SIMS." Applied Surface Science 231-232(Sp. Iss. SI):912-916.
Cliff JB, PJ Bottomley, DJ Gaspar, and DD Myrold. 2006. "Nitrogen Mineralization and Assimilation at Millimeter Scales." Soil Biology and Biochemistry 39(3):823?826.