Global Change

The influence of human activity on the element cycling is having global-scale impacts. In little more than a century, atmospheric CO₂ increased by 33%, CH₄ levels by 50%, and nitrogen fixation by 100%. We now appropriate 50% of the available freshwater and 40% of the global net primary production.
     We study several facets of the global change issue, most of which involve soils and the carbon cycle. Specialty areas include the effects of rising atmospheric CO₂ on soil carbon sequestration and soil microbial activity, the production and destruction of methane (another important greenhouse gas), and the influence of rising sea level on wetland ecosystems.