Newswise — Environmental studies and sciences professor Kurt Smemo and student researchers Daniel Casarella ’18 and Jen Cristiano ’18 have embarked on an ambitious, multiyear study to identify a primary factor for controlling organic-matter decomposition in forest ecosystems—processes that either capture or release carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and therefore mediate our climate system.
“Of course, human emissions are the greatest contributor to climate change,” says Smemo, a biogeochemist who formerly did research and taught for the Holden Arboretum and Kent State University. “But land-management decisions also contribute: finding a way to store more carbon dioxide in the soil as organic matter can help mitigate some human emissions. Soil organic matter accumulates more in some forest types than others. We want to find out why.”
Their study, “Broad and micro-scale controls on plant litter decomposition across climatic and plant community gradients,” is one of nearly 60 projects in Skidmore’s 2016 Faculty-Student Summer Research program.
Casarella, who hails from New Haven, Conn., and plans to pursue environmental science in grad school, says, “I will be able to contribute to global-change research, something I have only been able to dream about until now. So far, the best part of the research has been the fieldwork in the Adirondack Park. I love the park, the material, and working with Kurt and Jen! This is the first time I’ve been involved in scientific research (outside of school labs), and this experience has taught me about the processes and planning that go into projects.”
Previous research on decomposition has looked at the influence of climate and plant-tissue chemistry, says Smemo, but more recent work, including his own, has focused on soil microbes that influence soil fertility and plant growth. Smemo’s team is actively collaborating with colleagues at Kent State University, Indiana University, and the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
With the help of Skidmore’s GIS Center for Interdisciplinary Research, the team has constructed a robust database of potential Adirondack study sites based on climatic conditions, soil type, and forest community information, with the hope of establishing long-term sites in the Lake George, Lake Placid, Newcomb, and Tupper Lake areas. This summer, the team identified and collected data from 24 experimental plots in the Tongue Mountain Range on the west side of Lake George.
Next steps on these sites will include manipulating plant-litter chemistry, to study the relationship between soil microbes and the traits of specific overstory trees. Nylon-mesh bags placed at soil level in the experimental plots will help the researchers monitor how the plant litter decomposes and how particular microbes are involved in the process.
Smemo says the Adirondack ecosystem is ideal for his study because of the consistent geology across the region, clear climate gradients and land-use history, and the relatively small number of tree species.
Next spring, after a semester abroad in Denmark, Casarella and Cristiano will conduct the first litter collection and analyses, and will continue the project through their capstone experiences as ES majors in 2017-18. They will accompany Smemo to the Ecological Society of America annual meeting in August 2017 to present their findings, and may well co-publish a paper.
As a rising junior who is delving into her second summer of research, Cristiano was sold on the idea that her capstone project would benefit from “several seasons of data and a strong foundation, with the goal of having the team’s work published.” She, too, plans to pursue science in grad school.
Cristiano, who calls Yorktown Heights, N.Y., home, is well aware that there is a long and winding road ahead. She says, “Research isn’t easy. There is often troubleshooting, difficult weather conditions, and equipment issues. How you deal with this determines the outcome. You have to make the best of every situation. If you’re out in the field and it’s raining, the best thing is to make jokes and laugh about it. Otherwise, you’ll be miserable.” Speaking of fun, take a look at their homemade video below.
For his part, Smemo is pleased to have Casarella and Cristiano on board, not just because he can help them learn but hopefully because they’ll become “the senior members of my lab and mentors to future student lab members.”
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