Microbes living in the sand on a barrier island alter the way they break down organic matter as their environment changes throughout the year, which has implications for the surrounding water column.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
Trees Are Watching Us and Our Actions
Annual growth rings in trees tell us more than climate history; they can also document the rise and fall of human industrial activities.
Mapping Nutrient Inputs in the Great Lakes Basin
A new tool links nitrogen and phosphorus applications to land use classifications to better understand where and how much of the nutrients enter watersheds in the U.S. Great Lakes Basin.
Wildfire Smoke Boosts Photosynthetic Efficiency
Wildfires can destroy large tracts of vegetation. But their smoke plumes may help crops and other plants use sunlight more efficiently.
Stored Nutrients and Climate Warming Will Feed More Algal Blooms
High nutrient concentrations cause water quality problems in lakes, and as the climate warms, these issues will only get worse. A new model assesses future scenarios and explores solutions.
Improving Estimates of Coastal Carbon Sequestration
A new two-model approach could reduce uncertainties in calculated rates of “blue carbon” accumulation within soils of seagrass, tidal marsh, and mangrove habitats.
How Forest Structure Influences the Water Cycle
New research looks at how changes in the arrangement of trees and canopy thickness influence the transport of water from the land surface to the atmosphere.
Methane-Releasing Tundra Soils Freezing Later Each Year
Scientists find links between delayed freezing of Alaskan soils and higher atmospheric methane concentrations during the cold season.
The Many Intertwined Stories of Tree Rings
Trees grow as they age, but it’s not straightforward to tease out how that growth changes over a century of environmental change.
How Land Use Affects Nutrient Pollution in a Changing Climate
As heavy rain falls more frequently, the land alongside a river has a greater effect on the waterway’s nutrient levels—for better or worse.