Birnessite films are sensitive indicators of microbial manganese reduction in soil.

Manganese (Mn) and Fe indicator of reduction in soils (IRIS) devices are low-cost, convenient tools for identifying reducing conditions in soils. Because Mn is reduced at similar redox potentials as nitrate, there is considerable interest in using Mn IRIS tools for understanding microbial reduction of Mn as a surrogate for processes such as denitrification. However, the sensitivity of these devices to differences in Mn-reducing capacity has not been empirically investigated.

Inclusive and active pedagogies reduce academic outcome gaps and improve long-term performance.

We assessed the impacts of the implementation of inclusive and active pedagogical approaches in an introductory biology sequence at a large, public research university in the northeast United States. We compared academic performance between these sections with other sections of the same course where didactic approaches were used over a five-year period. We also compared this five-year period (2014-2018) with the previous five years of the same courses.

Comparison of N2O Emissions and Gene Abundances between Wastewater Nitrogen Removal Systems.

Biological nitrogen removal (BNR) systems are increasingly used in the United States in both centralized wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and decentralized advanced onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) to reduce N discharged in wastewater effluent. However, the potential for BNR systems to be sources of nitrous oxide (NO), a potent greenhouse gas, needs to be evaluated to assess their environmental impact. We quantified and compared NO emissions from BNR systems at a WWTP (Field's Point, Providence, RI) and three types of advanced OWTS (Orenco Advantex AX 20, SeptiTech Series D, and Bio-Microbics MicroFAST) in nine Rhode Island residences ( = 3 per type) using cavity ring-down spectroscopy.

Restoring tides to reduce methane emissions in impounded wetlands: A new and potent Blue Carbon climate change intervention.

Coastal wetlands are sites of rapid carbon (C) sequestration and contain large soil C stocks. Thus, there is increasing interest in those ecosystems as sites for anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission offset projects (sometimes referred to as "Blue Carbon"), through preservation of existing C stocks or creation of new wetlands to increase future sequestration. Here we show that in the globally-widespread occurrence of diked, impounded, drained and tidally-restricted salt marshes, substantial methane (CH) and CO emission reductions can be achieved through restoration of disconnected saline tidal flows.

Substantial nitrous oxide emissions from intertidal sediments and groundwater in anthropogenically-impacted West Falmouth Harbor, Massachusetts.

Large N2O emissions were observed from intertidal sediments in a coastal estuary, West Falmouth Harbor, MA, USA. Average N2O emission rates from 41 chambers during summer 2008 were 10.7 mol N2O m(-2) h(-1)±4.