Botany students trained Lander (Wyoming) Middle School students to measure soil texture

As part of the 2015 Wyoming State Science Fair, Botany graduate students, Christopher Beltz and Caitlin Rottler led one of the enrichment activities where they demonstrated the process of obtaining soil texture to a group of Lander Middle School students.

This activity included both the laboratory and the “feel” method. Students learned how to use a graduated cylinder, hydrometer, and soil sample of a specific mass to determine the percent-by-mass of the sand, silt, and clay. The feel method is commonly used in the field through examining specific features of wet soils in a person’s palms. Soil texture at a given locale is a significant driver of a number of ecosystem functions and can effect which species of plants are able to grow.

Field Ecology: Skills for Science and Beyond - field course in Costa Rica

Dr. Jane Zelikova (Botany Research Scientist) taught the Field Ecology: Skills for Science and Beyond, a four-week field course in Costa Rica. This course uses field problems to drive fast-paced formulation of research questions, experimental design, data collection, analysis, oral presentations, and written papers. 

There is also a strong focus on science communication and collaborative research, the cornerstones of modern research. Students gain concrete skills in research design, the latest in data analysis, and writing, all in the breath-taking tropical setting that is Costa Rica. Long days and late nights, filled with science.

Checkout the video they made that attempts to make a science documentary worth watching: 

To watch the short video click on the graphic above or this URL: https://vimeo.com/116492131

UW, CSU Research: Microbes Accelerate Soil Carbon Loss

Dr. Elise Pendall and her team of UW and CSU researchers publish their findings in Ecology Letters.

Read more from the UW press release: http://www.uwyo.edu/uw/news/2012/11/uw,-csu-research-microbes-accelerate-soil-carbon-loss.html

Journal's website: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.12034/abstract

To learn more about Dr. Pendall's research and her lab, please visit her website at https://sites.google.com/site/pendalllab/

What will Wyoming's grasslands look like in a hundred years?

Warming temperatures and rising carbon dioxide in the air are likely to shift the dominant plant species and alter soil nutrient availability, according to experimental conditions in the Prairie Heating and CO2 Enrichment experiment near Cheyenne. The experiment is being conducted in native grassland by Botany professors Elise Pendall and Dave Williams, in collaboration with Jack Morgan and other researchers at the Agricultural Research Service in Fort Collins, CO.

Results from the first three years suggest that cool season grasses, favored by grazers, may give way to warm season species with lower forage quality. However, warmer temperature increases the availability of nitrogen in soil, a key ingredient of proteins in leaves. This may offset reductions in tissue quality brought about by the higher carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and species shifts. More details can be found in our paper published in Nature.

The balance between carbon dioxide uptake by plants and decomposition in grassland soils will determine how much carbon is ultimately stored in ecosystems. Williams’ group is studying how photosynthesis reacts to the experimental conditions. Pendall is studying these carbon cycling processes using chambers designed for the experiment, shown in the photo with graduate research assistant Nick Brown. Carbon cycling is affected by the futuristic carbon dioxide levels, especially during low-precipitation years, but the grassland ecosystem is more resilient to warmer temperatures.

For more information, contact Dr. Elise Pendall, pendall@uwyo.edu, or visit the Pendall Lab website at https://sites.google.com/site/pendalllab/.