Wetland Soil Biogeochemistry

My interest in anthropogenic impacts on soil ecosystem processes began with seasonal wetlands. Seasonal wetlands are unique in that they exhibit disproportionately high rates of biogeochemical cycling due to their changing redox state and high proportion of interfacial zones where redox cycling is most intense. In this research I examined the effects of agricultural runoff on the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, metals and nutrients in several seasonally-saturated constructed wetlands. Seasonal cycles of wetting and drying result in spatially and temporally dynamic fluctuations and transformations of P in wetland soils, which are coupled to changes in iron and sulfur biogeochemistry. These dynamics control sorption/desorption kinetics and P fluxes at the soil-water column interface.

My research covers a range of topics from the effects of sedimentation on C cylcing in seasonally saturted wetland soils, to the effects of iron and sulfate reduction on P mobilization. I have conducted several spatially-explicit wetland studies, examining differeneces in biogeochemical processes within different wetland enviroments.