For those interested in carbon, soil, and/or supporting fellow students moving on…

PhD defense seminar of Nina T. Chaopricha

Deepening our understanding of soil carbon
Monday, May 13, 2013
8:00am
Science Hall, Room 140

Most research on soil organic carbon (SOC) investigates soils to a maximum of 1 m depth, but at least a third of global SOC is located below that depth, and some of it is highly vulnerable to future changes in land use and climate.  This research addresses the importance, sources, composition, and stability of deeply buried soil organic matter through: 1) a discussion of buried soils around the world highlighting how substantial soil C is stored globally below 1 m depth, and 2) a detailed biogeochemical analysis of the organic matter of one deeply buried paleosol—the Brady Soil of the central Great Plains of the U.S.—as a case study for how burial can contribute to the preservation of carbon in an buried soil for thousands of years.