A grant has been awarded to Drs. Morris, McConnaughay, Gehring and Frase at Bradley University to acquire instrumentation needed to support integrated studies of C and N dynamics including controlled environment growth chambers, photosynthesis and soil respiration equipment and a nutrient auto-analyzer. The equipment requested will be used within the department for individual projects, interdepartmental collaborative projects and integrated research-training of undergraduate and graduate students.
The instrumentation will support on-going collaborative research efforts to examine the effects of altered C and N dynamics on native and invasive plants in restored prairie ecosystems. Specific projects will examine plant growth characteristics in the field and in the laboratory under controlled environmental conditions in chambers subjected to elevated CO2 and N deposition. Soil nutrient dynamics, including C and N turnover, will be evaluated using laboratory mineralization rates in tandem with measurements of plant growth characteristics. In addition to answering fundamental questions about restoration ecology and ecosystem change following disturbance, the instrumentation will be used as a tool by individual researchers to introduce undergraduates in their respective laboratories to integrated large-scale projects.
