Dec, 2026
Journal
Faster nitrogen cycling under an expanding nitrogen fixing shrub in the Alaskan Arctic
Arctic tundra ecosystems are severely nitrogen (N) limited, largely due to low inputs of N via fixation and slow decomposition rates. Traditionally, protein depolymerization has been considered the step regulating arctic N availability, with microbes believed to be chronically N limited, resulting in a tightly conserved, predominantly organic, N cycle. This paradigm has be…
Oct, 2026
Journal
ISODATA Clustering Approach for Mapping and Characterization of Surface Urban Heat Island Intensities Using Time Series of Remotely Sensed Land Surface Temperature and Land-Use/Land-Cover Products
This study evaluated spatial, seasonal, and diurnal variations in surface urban heat island intensities (SUHIIs) across three rapidly developing major cities in Alabama, USA: Huntsville, Birmingham, and Mobile, representing less-studied mid-size cities of the Mid-South USA. We evaluated an integrated clustering approach using ISODATA clustering of Moderate Resolution Imagi…
Sep, 2026
Journal
Soil fertility controls on tropical forest productivity and mortality: synthesis and roadmap
Tropical forests are highly diverse and productive ecosystems and store nearly 60% of vegetation biomass. Across the tropics, forests span large gradients of soil fertility, from vast regions situated on highly weathered, ancient geological formations to others on young, nutrient-rich landscapes. Tropical forest productivity, mortality, and biomass all vary systematically…
Sep, 2026
Journal
Manganese Oxides Incubated in Acidic Forest Soil Retain More Organic Carbon Than Iron Oxides
Iron (oxyhydr)oxides are well-recognized contributors to soil carbon (C) storage, but the effects of manganese oxides on carbon storage and transformation are relatively unexplored. Here, the relative capacities of Fe and Mn oxides to bind and stabilize soil organic C were directly compared using an in situ incubation experiment. Quartz sands coated with either poorly crys…
Aug, 2026
Journal
Rhizosphere dynamics shape soil biogeochemistry: insights into thawing permafrost landscapes
Arctic permafrost regions contain the largest terrestrial carbon stocks on the globe. Thermokarst wetlands are increasingly forming in these Arctic systems due to ground subsidence caused by permafrost thaw, necessitating understanding of how these changing landscapes function and their feedback with global change and carbon cycling. We evaluated how the above- and belowgr…
Aug, 2026
Journal
Global Carbon Investment in Terrestrial Biological Nitrogen Fixation
Biological nitrogen (N) fixation (BNF) provides the N needed to produce proteins and other biological building blocks, helping feed humanity and mitigate climate change. Due to its high energetic cost compared to other forms of N acquisition, biotic investment in BNF indicates N limitation. Globally gridded BNF flux data provide an opportunity to determine the energetic in…
Aug, 2026
Journal
Connecting ambient toxicity testing with community-level responses of benthic macroinvertebrates in an impacted stream in East Tennessee, USA
Single-species laboratory toxicity tests are a standard tool for evaluating potential impairment of freshwater systems; however, it remains uncertain how well they reflect community-level impacts in natural environments. This study presents a multi-decadal dataset (2005-2025) pairing ambient toxicity testing with macroinvertebrate surveys along Bear Creek on the Oak Ridge…
Aug, 2026
Journal
A primer on forest structure measurement with lidar for ecologists
Light detection and ranging (lidar) technology has fundamentally advanced the way we measure forest structure, facilitating new insights into ecological processes. Lidar for forest ecology applications is deployed on multiple types of platforms that operate from the ground, air, or space, and each has associated strengths and limitations. Ideally, the choice of what kind o…
Jul, 2026
Journal
KBase: Open-source Platform for Collaborative Biological Data Analysis and Publication
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Systems Biology Knowledgebase (KBase; www.kbase.us) is an open, collaborative platform that integrates data, models, and analysis tools to accelerate discovery in microbiology, plant biology, and environmental systems. Recently, KBase expanded as a comprehensive, multi-omics ecosystem. KBase enables representation of scientific samples, long…