Restricted Research - Award List, Note/Discussion Page
Fiscal Year: 2023
320 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (142208)
Principal Investigator: Kang,James JiHoon
Total Amount of Contract, Award, or Gift (Annual before 2011): $ 149,999
Exceeds $250,000 (Is it flagged?): No
Start and End Dates: 9/1/22 - 6/30/24
Restricted Research: YES
Academic Discipline: Sch of Earth Env & Marine Sci
Department, Center, School, or Institute: Sch of Earth Env & Marine Sci
Title of Contract, Award, or Gift: Greenhouse gas flux response in biochar- and compost-amended urban soils under simulated soil hydrologic dynamics
Name of Granting or Contracting Agency/Entity:
U.S. Department of Energy
CFDA Link: DOE
81.049
Program Title:
Office of Science Financial Assistance Program
CFDA Linked: Office of Science Financial Assistance Program
Note:
SAMs 1.1.1--The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) in South Texas is a subtropical semi-arid region experiencing increased occurrence of extreme drought with occasional intense precipitation events that result in region-wide floodings. This is particularly severe during the months of May-June followed by hot, dry summer through September. The LRGV is one of the most farmed regions in South Texas but also a region experiencing rapid urbanization along the US-Mexico border. This project is designed to investigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in urban soils of the LRGV subjected to contrasting soil hydrologic conditions and organic amendments (biochar and compost) through soil mesocosm experiments. Biochar and compost were chosen as soil amendments for turfgrass sodding, representing stable and labile carbon sources, respectively. Soil columns consisting of local urban soil (20-cm diameter x 50-cm depth) will be amended with biochar, compost, biochar + compost, or no amendment in duplicates (4 treatments x 2 reps = 8 columns). All columns will be sodded with a turfgrass (St. Augustine) and receive nitrogen-fertilizer as a typical spring lawn fertilization. Soil hydrologic conditions will be controlled by a Mariotte siphon in a water reservoir, simulating unsaturated, half-saturated, and fully saturated soil conditions within a 10-week period (i.e., downscaling of May to September into a 10-week period). Each column will be instrumented with redox probe and soil moisture meter. GHG fluxes will be measured on the top of each column using Li-COR trace gas analyzers. Soil material, organic amendments, and soil water will be characterized for selected hydro-geochemical properties relevant to GHG emissions and redox chemistry. This project addresses the underrepresented role of biochar and compost (anthropogenic carbon source) on urban soil GHG emission toward “a predictive understanding of complex biological, earth, and environmental systems”. The simulation of contrasting soil hydrologic dynamics will explore how aerobic and anaerobic conditions affect soil hydro-biogeochemical reactions and GHG emissions in urban lawn soils. This project will contribute to a systems-level understanding of urban soil GHG emission that integrates water, soil, amendment, and vegetation components. To this end, the project team will develop a partnership with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and position University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) for the Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences Division (EESSD) research and opportunities in DOE’s Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program. This project will foster UTRGV’s research capabilities in climate and environmental research and help the project team incorporate research into education while promoting experiential learning opportunities to UTRGV students in the nation’s second largest Hispanic-serving institution (> 90% Hispanic of 29,000 students).
Discussion: No discussion notes