A5025050779- Soil and Unsaturated Flow
- Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Soil Moisture and Remote Sensing
- Soil Geostatistics and Mapping
- Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics
- Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology
- Clay minerals and soil interactions
- Geophysical and Geoelectrical Methods
- Groundwater flow and contamination studies
- Soil erosion and sediment transport
- Gut microbiota and health
- Geophysical Methods and Applications
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
- Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
- Marine and coastal ecosystems
- Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Fire effects on ecosystems
- Granular flow and fluidized beds
- Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies
- Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics
- Enhanced Oil Recovery Techniques
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
2015-2024
Centre for Environment Education
2015-2019
Natural Environment Research Council
2014
Stanford University
2006-2011
University of the West Indies System
2009
Utah State University
2005-2007
University of California, Riverside
2004
U.S. Salinity Laboratory
1992-2004
United States Department of Agriculture
1999
The unknown consequences and potential impacts of mankind's ability to destroy, alter, or manipulate ecosystems on a vast scale drives our need better understand the earth system. A fundamental challenge for soil science in 21st century is role processes relation function rationale developing definition natural capital stems from premise that we value ‘things’ based their perceived human well‐being. As consequence, ignorance resource, system, may lead its neglect omission decision making....
Soil is part of the Earth's life support system, but how should we convey value this and soil as a resource? Consideration ecosystem services natural capital soils offers framework going beyond performance indicators health quality, recognizes broad that contributes to human wellbeing. This approach provides links synergies between science other disciplines such ecology, hydrology, economics, recognizing importance alongside resources in sustaining functioning Earth system. We articulate why...
Abstract Soil biota accounts for ~25% of global biodiversity and is vital to nutrient cycling primary production. There growing momentum study total belowground across large ecological scales understand how habitat soil properties shape communities. Microbial animal components communities follow divergent responses land use intensification; however, it unclear whether this extends heterogeneous ecosystems. Here, a national-scale metabarcoding analysis 436 locations 7 different temperate...
Soils harbour high levels of microbial diversity, underpinning their ability to provide key soil functions and ecosystem services. The extreme variety life is often explained by reference the physical chemical heterogeneity environment. However, detailed understanding this link still lacking, particularly as micro-scale studies are difficult scale up profile or landscape level. To address this, we used samples collected from a wide range temperate oceanic habitats (e.g. arable, grassland,...
The ecosystem services approach endeavors to incorporate the economic value of ecosystems into decision making. This is because many natural resources are subject market failure. As a result, decisions omit impact that resource use has on earth's and life support system it provides. Hence, one objectives employ valuation in micro- macroeconomic policy design, implementation, evaluation. In this article we examine concepts, ask why might attempt economically contribution soils provision...
Absorbance in the UV or visible spectrum (UV-vis) is commonly used as a proxy for DOC concentrations waters draining upland catchments. To determine appropriateness of different UV-vis measurements we surface and pore water samples from two Welsh peatlands four experiments: (i) an assessment single wavelength proxies (1 nm increments between 230-800 nm) concentration demonstrated that 254 was more accurate than 400 nm. The highest R(2) values absorbance were generated using 263 one sample...
Abstract Although only representing 0.05% of global freshwater, or 0.001% all water, soil water supports terrestrial biological life. Soil moisture behaviour in most models is constrained by hydraulic parameters that do not change. Here we argue feedbacks from plants, macro‐fauna and the microbiome influence structure, thus content signals observe. Incorporating into hydrological therefore important for understanding environmental change its impacts on ecosystems. We anticipate will...
A warming climate and expected changes in average extreme rainfall emphasise the importance of understanding how land surface routes stores water. The availability movement water within an ecosystem is a fundamental control on biological geophysical activity, influences many climatic feedbacks. key phenomenon influencing infiltration into soil hydrophobicity, or repellency. Despite repellency dictating speed, volume pattern infiltration, there still major uncertainty over whether this...
The thin layer of soil at the earth's surface supports life, storing water and nutrients for plant uptake. These processes occur in pore space, often half volume, but our understanding how this volume responds to environmental change is poor. Convention, has been predict porosity, or its reciprocal bulk density (BD), from texture using pedotransfer functions (PTFs). A based approach, invariant change, prevents feedback land use climate porosity. Moreover, PTFs are limited mineral soils with...
A fundamental, and often intriguing question, in hydrology is “where does the water go?” This becomes particularly difficult to observe when arrives at ground surface infiltrates into soils. The development of rapid, campaign‐style imaging methods that do not need be left situ are therefore great interest tracking subsurface hydrological redistribution. We present a novel geophysical approach identifying spatiotemporal variation consistent with soil redistribution tropical deltaic soil....
Ecosystems may exhibit alternative stable states (ASS) in response to environmental change. Modelling and observational data broadly support the theory of ASS, however evidence from manipulation experiments supporting this is limited. Here, we provide long-term observation existence drought induced soil moisture (irreversible wetting) upland Atlantic heath, dominated by Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull. Manipulated repeated moderate summer drought, intense natural both lowered resilience resulting...
Abstract A major challenge in soil science is to monitor and understand the state change of soils at a national scale inform decision making policy. To address this, there need identify key parameters for health function determine how they relate other parameters, including traditional surveys. Here we present national‐scale dataset topsoil sampled as part wider agri‐environment monitoring scheme Wales, UK. Over 1,350 topsoils (0–15 cm) were across very wide range habitats physical, chemical...
Grasslands account for ∼30% of global terrestrial carbon (C), which most is stored in soils and provide important ecosystem services including livestock forage production. Reseeding temporary grasslands on a 5-year cycle common management practice to rejuvenate sward productivity reduce soil compaction, but physically disruptive may organic (SOC) stocks. However, research date limited, impacts the ability optimise grassland climate change mitigation. To determine whether extending time...
The EM‐38 is a noninvasive instrument, commonly used for monitoring salinity, mapping bulk soil properties, and evaluating nutrient status. Users in the Southwest USA have observed as much 20% “drift” measurement of electrical conductivity (EC ) with this instrument. This drift has usually been ignored or compensated by statistical procedures. We performed laboratory field experiments to determine if due calibration instability instrument heating sun. In experiments, after warm‐up period,...
Encroachment of pinyon–juniper woodland into rangeland ecosystems is prevalent across the western United States. Mechanisms associated with this successful encroachment are speculative, but probably, in part, involve effective use water resources. We explored ecohydrological characteristics a two‐needle pinyon pine ( Pinus edulis Engelm.)–Utah juniper [ Juniperus osteosperma (Torr.) Little] on Colorado Plateau Utah. have discovered that high level natural soil repellency or hydrophobicity...
Soil texture and the soil water characteristic are key properties used to estimate flow transport parameters. Determination of clay content is therefore critical for understanding plot-scale heterogeneity. With increasing interest in proximal sensing, there need relate obtained signals interest. Inference texture, especially mineral content, from instrument response electromagnetic induction radiometric methods substantial However, cost sampling analysis required link measurements...
The loss of peatland dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in filtered samples under long-term storage (4 °C the dark) can be modelled simply using a calculated half-life.
Reclamation of sodic soils is imperative in many areas where deterioration land and water resources progress. While the chemical mechanisms involved reclamation are well described understood, situ physical processes undergoing during salt leaching cation substitution normally not taken into consideration. Three mixed with different amounts gypsum were packed columns leached under saturated conditions for a period time between 1 3 mo. Saturated hydraulic conductivity ( K sat ) was measured...
The impact of pinyon‐juniper woodland encroachment on rangeland ecosystems is often associated with a reduction streamflow and recharge an increase in soil erosion. objective this study to investigate vegetational control seasonal hydrologic properties along 15‐m transect biocrust. We demonstrate that the juniper tree controls water content (SWC) patterns directly under canopy via interception, beyond shading preferred orientation, opposite prevailing wind direction. also SWC unsaturated...