Hello! My name is Nikita Kowal and as Dr. Becky stated in her last blog post, I will be sharing my research experience on here throughout this summer. I am part of the Ecological Society of America SEEDS Fellowship, and am conducting an REU through the Central Arizona Project Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER for short). This summer I am working for Dr. Becky Ball and Dr. Pam Marshall. Under Dr. Ball, we will be doing the chemistry behind the soil composition and Dr. Marshall is the expert in microbial communities. But enough about myself; let's get to the real fun - science!
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| Usery Mountain Preserve |
This project aims to find patterns in the different kinds of microbial communities who live in various levels of nitrogen-enriched environments. Nitrogen deposition is most common in inner-city ecosystems due to the nitrogen emissions in cars. Nitrogen deposition is when nitrogen from the atmosphere falls (or deposits) into the biosphere. Because there is more in the atmosphere in the middle of a huge metropolitan area, such as Phoenix, previous studies from CAP LTER have proven that preserves inside the city will have more nitrogen in the soil than farther out of the city. We will/have been sampling from different sites in the city as well as the outer edges of the city. Our inner-city sites include Piestewa Peak area and South Mountain and our outer-city sites include the White Tanks, Lost Dutchman Trail (in the Superstition Mountains), Salt River Reserve, the Usery Mountain region and the Estrella Mountains. So far, we have hit Piestewa Peak, Salt River Reserve, Usery Mountain, White Tanks, and one of the South Mountain sites. At each site, there is a control plot and there is a nitrogen plot, where nitrogen has been added to the soil.
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| Carbon Utilization Plate |
The field work is an enjoyment, because we get to enjoy nature while collecting our samples. The way samples are collected is by taking a soil core, which is shaped as a cylinder, and pound it into the dense desert soil, then scoop it up into a whirlpool bag. The cylindrical shape helps to ensure multiple layers of the soil is collected, and not just the surface. The samples are then taken back to the lab and prepared for the next steps. To test what kind of microbes are in the soil, we use carbon utilization plates, which have different types of carbon in each well. By putting our soil samples into these, the various microbes in the samples eat the different kinds of carbon and respire chemicals that turn the wells purple over time. The intensity of purple is tested every 24 hours for the next 4 days.
Additionally, the chemical composition of the soil will also be tested, including the phosphorus and nitrogen levels in the soil, the water content, and the texture of the soil.
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Lab member, Paul, and I collecting samples
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