Interactions between Plants and Soil within Prairie Ecosystems
Session Number
Project ID: ENVR 6
Advisor(s)
Dr. Wesley Swingley; Northern Illinois University
Discipline
Environmental Science
Start Date
22-4-2020 10:25 AM
End Date
22-4-2020 10:40 AM
Abstract
This project attempts to comprehend the interactions between plants and soil within ecosystems, as our current understanding of plant-plant and plant-soil interactions is incredibly convoluted due to difficulties in isolating specific species of plants within an ecosystem over extended periods of time. By observing various plots within the Nachusa Grasslands, including both controlled combinations of plant species and monocultures, we can gain a more concrete understanding of how the phylogenetic and functional diversity of plants can influence prairie ecosystems. There are a number of ways that this influence can be quantified and measured: changes in pH, organic matter composition, analysis of microbial soil communities and nitrogen, carbon, and sulfur content. This newfound understanding of plant-soil and plant-plant interactions has a wide variety of practical applications within our world and the diverse environments within it. For example, one possible application of this knowledge lies in its ability to restore damage sustained by certain ecosystems, such as prairies. Consequently, the research done in this project may help prevent and reverse the loss of biodiversity in order to achieve diverse organismal communities that contribute to more desirable ecosystem functionality
Interactions between Plants and Soil within Prairie Ecosystems
This project attempts to comprehend the interactions between plants and soil within ecosystems, as our current understanding of plant-plant and plant-soil interactions is incredibly convoluted due to difficulties in isolating specific species of plants within an ecosystem over extended periods of time. By observing various plots within the Nachusa Grasslands, including both controlled combinations of plant species and monocultures, we can gain a more concrete understanding of how the phylogenetic and functional diversity of plants can influence prairie ecosystems. There are a number of ways that this influence can be quantified and measured: changes in pH, organic matter composition, analysis of microbial soil communities and nitrogen, carbon, and sulfur content. This newfound understanding of plant-soil and plant-plant interactions has a wide variety of practical applications within our world and the diverse environments within it. For example, one possible application of this knowledge lies in its ability to restore damage sustained by certain ecosystems, such as prairies. Consequently, the research done in this project may help prevent and reverse the loss of biodiversity in order to achieve diverse organismal communities that contribute to more desirable ecosystem functionality