Nitrification gene ratio and free ammonia explain nitrite and nitrous oxide production in urea-amended soils
Breuillin-Sessoms, F., R.T. Venterea, M.J. Sadowsky, J.A. Coulterd, T. J. Cloughe and P. Wanga
Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Volume 111, August 2017.  Pages 143–153

The atmospheric concentration of nitrous oxide (N 2 O), a potent greenhouse gas 
and ozone-depleting chemical, continues to increase, due largely to the application of 
nitrogen (N) fertilizers.

Next-generation sequencing and culture-based techniques offer complementary insights into fungi and prokaryotes in beach sands
Romão, D., C. Staley, F. Ferreira, R. Rodrigues, R. Sabino, C. Verissimo, P. Wang, J. Sadowsky and J. Brandao
Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2017

A next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach, in conjunction with culture-based 
methods, was used to examine fungal and prokaryotic communities for the presence of 
potential pathogens in beach sands throughout Portugal.

Solid-phase arsenic speciation in aquifer sediments: a micro-X-ray absorption spectroscopy approach for quantifying trace-level speciation
Nicholas, S.L.,  M.L. Erickson, L.G. Woodruff, A.R. Knaeble, M.A. Marcus, J.K. Lynch and B.M. Toner
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2017

Arsenic (As) is a geogenic contaminant affecting groundwater in geologically diverse systems globally. Arsenic release from aquifer sediments to groundwater is favored when biogeochemical conditions, especially oxidation-reduction (redox) potential, in aquifers fluctuate. The specific objective of this research is to identify the solid-phase sources and geochemical mechanisms of release of As in aquifers of the Des Moines Lobe glacial advance.

Ecological Stoichiometry beyond Redfield: An Ionomic Perspective on Elemental Homeostasis
Jeyasingh, P.D., J.M. Goos, S.K. Thompson, C.M. Godwin and J. Cotner 
Frontiers in Microbiology, 2017.

Elemental homeostasis has been largely characterized using three important elements that were part of the Redfield ratio (i.e., carbon: nitrogen: phosphorus). These efforts have revealed substantial diversity in homeostasis among taxonomic groups and even within populations. Understanding the evolutionary basis, and ecological consequences of such diversity is a central challenge. Here, we propose that a more complete understanding of homeostasis necessitates the consideration of other elements beyond C, N, and P.

Cost-effective Land Use Planning: Optimizing Land Use and Land Management Patterns to Maximize Social Benefits
Pennington, D.N., B. Dalzell, E. Nelson, D. Mulla and S. Taff  
Ecological Economics, 2017

Improving water quality and other ecosystem services in agriculturally dominated 
watersheds is an important policy objective in many regions of the world. A major challenge 
is overcoming the associated costs to agricultural producers. We integrate spatially-explicit 

Quantifying the electron donating capacities of sulfide and dissolved organic matter in sediment pore waters of wetlands
Wallace, G., M. Sander, Y.P. Chin and W. Arnold 
Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts.  2017

Electron donating capacity (EDC) values were determined for a set of pore water samples collected from the sediments of four separate wetlands in the Cottonwood Lakes Study Area in Jamestown, ND by mediated electrochemical analysis, reaction with substituted nitro(so)benzenes, and calculation based on measured organic carbon and sulfide concentrations. The samples were taken from four hydrologically connected and increasingly sulfidic wetlands within the study site.j