Lab updates
I am recruiting undergraduate and graduate student researchers. If interested, please email your CV and a short (<1 page) statement of interest to Rebecca [dot] Abney [at] uga [dot] edu.
Jan 2025 - Welcome new graduate student Royce Dingley who will be studying coupled soil and tree health.
April 2024 - Congratulations to Courtney Scott for being awarded both a Garden Club of America fellowship and the MONet soil network grant!
Jan 2025 - Welcome new graduate student Royce Dingley who will be studying coupled soil and tree health.
April 2024 - Congratulations to Courtney Scott for being awarded both a Garden Club of America fellowship and the MONet soil network grant!
Research topics
Our research focuses on perturbations and controls on the soil carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles. Currently we are working in three main areas: (1) the role of prescribed fire in mediating soil C stabilization, (2) the use of biochar to improve soil quality and tree growth, and (3) understanding how disturbances in urban settings change soil chemical and physical properties.
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Carbon stability
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Pyrogenic carbon, or fire-altered carbon, is generally thought to have longer environmental persistence than other forms of soil carbon. I am working to understand some of the factors that control the long-term fate of pyrogenic carbon, including its formation conditions and its location within the landscape. Some of the major drivers of its redistribution across a landscape include erosion, leaching, and decomposition.
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Biochar as an amendment to improve soil quality
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Biochar is charcoal that is produced and used to improve a number of soil properties, including pH (liming effect), percolation, cation exchange capacity, bulk density, organic matter content, etc. Our work is describing how different uses and types of biochar improve specific soil properties.
We are working with the City of Brookhaven to use biochar to improve the quality of water in Murphy Candler Lake: https://www.brookhavenga.gov/publicworks/page/brookhaven-and-uga-join-forces-improve-water-and-soil-quality We have also been awarded a grant from the TreeFund to test the effects of different biochar application rates and methods on tree growth in tree vaults: https://treefund.org/archives/21121?doing_wp_cron=1656512738.6942451000213623046875 We have also produced an extension publication and webinar about the use of biochar as a soil amendment. |
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Fire and erosion
After wildfires, elevated rates of erosion are often reported. My research is working to understand how what is eroded is different from material eroded pre-fire, and how this impacts the landscape-scale soil carbon and nutrient balance. At the landscape scale, post-fire erosion controls the fate of soil organic matter and nutrients, which is critical for post-fire recovery of vegetation.
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Urban soil organic matter and nutrient dynamics related to septic system use and COVID-19.
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Around 30% of homes in the Southeast and 50% of homes in the Northeast US rely on septic systems to treat their wastewater. This research project is investigating the hotspots of nutrients, pollutants, and soil organic matter dynamics related to septic leach fields and was recently funded by the National Science Foundation. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, "shelter in place" orders and increased working from home have increased stress on residential septic systems. Additionally, much of north Georgia experienced significantly higher than normal precipitation. This study will quantify pollutant runoff from residential septic systems under high stress. The results from this study will inform land managers and local governments on pollutants that need to be managed to protect human health, natural resources, and the environment. 
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