Ecological legacies from grasslands to agroecosystems : microbial ecology, plant community assembly, and resource allocation
type: CreativeWork
description: Large scale soil degradation is pervasive across the modern landscape. The expansion of municipal infrastructure and the legacy effects of agriculture play key roles in the continued alteration of the soil profile. The response of the soil physical, chemical, and biological properties along with the plant community composition in response to land-use changes is poorly understood. These ecological variables are often compared to like compositions and ecological structures (i.e., agricultural soils to agricultural soils, forested soils to forested soils), but rarely compared to what once was, the native state prior to large scale manipulation of the landscape. The goal of this study has been to compare what soil once was to what it is at present. In this case, the once vast prairie soils and plant communities of Missouri to the degraded soils of agriculture whether currently active or not. The variables considered within this research were 1) the microbial communities of remnant, restored, and reconstructed prairie communities, 2) the potential soil nutrient environment or "nutrient spectrum" associated with three common species of plants found in remnant, restored, and reconstructed prairies, and 3) the comparative ability of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) allocation between common Missouri crops and their native analogs, sharing the same photosynthetic and morphological distinctions. Within this dissertation I found remnant soils and floristic communities are distinct from more degraded prairie states (restorations and reconstructions). Microbial community biomass is highest in remnant sites and depletes along a degradation gradient from remnant to restored and finally reconstructed sites having the lowest overall microbial biomass. The same is true of soil nutrients and species quality and quantity metrics along the same gradient. For instance, I found the quality of plant communities within remnant grassland systems was largely unchanged, regardless of nutrient statu…
abstract: Large scale soil degradation is pervasive across the modern landscape. The expansion of municipal infrastructure and the legacy effects of agriculture play key roles in the continued alteration of the soil profile. The response of the soil physical, chemical, and biological properties along with the plant community composition in response to land-use changes is poorly understood. These ecological variables are often compared to like compositions and ecological structures (i.e., agricultural soils to agricultural soils, forested soils to forested soils), but rarely compared to what once was, the native state prior to large scale manipulation of the landscape. The goal of this study has been to compare what soil once was to what it is at present. In this case, the once vast prairie soils and plant communities of Missouri to the degraded soils of agriculture whether currently active or not. The variables considered within this research were 1) the microbial communities of remnant, restored, and reconstructed prairie communities, 2) the potential soil nutrient environment or "nutrient spectrum" associated with three common species of plants found in remnant, restored, and reconstructed prairies, and 3) the comparative ability of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) allocation between common Missouri crops and their native analogs, sharing the same photosynthetic and morphological distinctions. Within this dissertation I found remnant soils and floristic communities are distinct from more degraded prairie states (restorations and reconstructions). Microbial community biomass is highest in remnant sites and depletes along a degradation gradient from remnant to restored and finally reconstructed sites having the lowest overall microbial biomass. The same is true of soil nutrients and species quality and quantity metrics along the same gradient. For instance, I found the quality of plant communities within remnant grassland systems was largely unchanged, regardless of nutrient statu…
author: Lord, Samuel Beckham
language: eng
language: English
date published: 2025
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:07:35Z
provider: University of Missouri
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Missouri--Columbia

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/10355/110073

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.32469/10355/110073