6,167 research outputs found
Ecological drivers of soil microbial diversity and soil biological networks in the Southern Hemisphere
No full textData from "Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Frank Reith, Paul G. Dennis, Kelly Hamonts, Jeff R. Powell, Andrew Young, Brajesh K. Singh, Andrew Bissett. Latitudinal patterns in multitrophic soil biodiversity and soil biological networks across the Southern Hemisphere: Insights from two continents.” There are two spreadsheets with data. The spreadsheets "Dataset" contains the raw data used in this paper. The spreadsheet "Metadata" contains the associated metadata, where a description of all the variables and units can be found
Soil carbon : introduction, importance, status, threat, and mitigation
No full textSoils represent a massive stock of terrestrial organic carbon (C) and act both as a buffer against atmospheric CO2 increase and as a potential sink for additional C depending on the balance between photosynthesis, the respiration of decomposer organisms, and stabilization of C in soil. Soil organic matter comprising of approximately 58% of soil organic carbon (SOC) is the basis of many soil functions and ecosystem services, including provision of food and fiber, habitats for biodiversity, climate regulation, water filtration and purification, and human heritage. The importance of SOC in maintaining the capacity of soils to perform multiple ecosystem processes has been recognized by farmers in all ancient civilizations. Managing SOC through sustainable agricultural and land use practices has become a widely acknowledged strategy to combat land degradation and desertification, as well as to provide food security in a changing climate. Several national and international efforts have been initiated to implement practical programs of SOC management and the types of farming methods used to promote it. Enhancing and sustaining SOC to increase soil health is also pertinent to advancing Sustainable Development goals of the U.N. including no hunger, good health and well-being, clean water, climate action, and life on land. This chapter briefly highlights the importance of SOC for ecosystem services, national and intergovernmental policies, while also identifying opportunities to increase SOC to address multiple global challenges
Impact of global changes on soil C storage : possible mechanisms and modeling approaches
No full textThis chapter aims to examine the extent to which interactions between soil microbial communities and physicochemical stabilization mechanisms determine how C storage in soils is affected by climate change, rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and nitrogen (N) deposition
Microbial diversity drives multifunctionality in terrestrial ecosystems
No full textDespite the importance of microbial communities for ecosystem services and human welfare, the relationship between microbial diversity and multiple ecosystem functions and services (that is, multifunctionality) at the global scale has yet to be evaluated. Here we use two independent, large-scale databases with contrasting geographic coverage (from 78 global drylands and from 179 locations across Scotland, respectively), and report that soil microbial diversity positively relates to multifunctionality in terrestrial ecosystems. The direct positive effects of microbial diversity were maintained even when accounting simultaneously for multiple multifunctionality drivers (climate, soil abiotic factors and spatial predictors). Our findings provide empirical evidence that any loss in microbial diversity will likely reduce multifunctionality, negatively impacting the provision of services such as climate regulation, soil fertility and food and fibre production by terrestrial ecosystems.Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel; Maestre, Fernando T; Reich, Peter B; Jeffries, Thomas C; Gaitan, Juan J; Encinar, Daniel; Berdugo, Miguel; Campbell, Colin D; Singh, Brajesh K. (2016). Microbial diversity drives multifunctionality in terrestrial ecosystems. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, 10.1038/ncomms10541
Professor Puran Singh: Scientist, Poet and Philosopher
Get PDFProfessor Puran Singh, a unique synthesis of a poet, philosopher and scientist, rose like a celestial star on the firmament of modern Indian literature. The many splendored personality of this great chemist, mystic poet, visionary and interpreter of the Sikh cultural consciousness still beckons scholars to explore the extent of his vision in various fields. After a splendid in-depth study of the Life and Work of Puran Singh, Dr. Hardev Singh Virk has made a successful attempt to unravel the persona of this multi-dimensional genius in his book titled 'Professor Puran Singh - Scientist, Poet and Philosopher.'
The book is an anthology of 11 essays - 7 in English and 4 in Punjabi. In the 'Introduction to the book, the author traces a brief history of the kindling of his interest in the 'Life and Works of Puran Singh.' Then he articulates the purpose of the book to elaborate the ideas of this eminent scholar through different mediums to reach a wider audience. Dr. Virk stresses that poetic and other literary works of Puran Singh are of International standards and worth a Nobel Prize in literature. Still, sadly these works have not been adequately projected at the world forum
Soil microbial communities drive the resistance of ecosystem multifunctionality to global change in drylands across the globe
No full textData from
"Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, David J. Eldridge, Victoria Ochoa, Beatriz
Gozalo, Brajesh K. Singh & Fernando T. Maestre. Soil microbial
communities drive the resistance of ecosystem multifunctionality to global
change in drylands across the globe ” There are four spreadsheets with data.
The spreadsheets " Multiresistance" and “Multifunctionality” contain
the raw data used in this paper. The spreadsheets "Dataset_metadata"
contain the associated metadata, where a description of all the variables and
units can be found.</p
Book Review by Hardev Singh Virk - Science and Sikhism : Conflict and Coherence (Book Author: Dr. D. P. Singh)
No full textDr. D P Singh is a prolific writer in many areas of Science, Religion and Literature. He came into my contact almost four decades back when he started his teaching career in Shivalik College, Nangal. In my note published on the blurb of this book, I wrote: " I expect his forthcoming book" Science and Sikhism : Conflict or Coherence" will prove to be a landmark in the area of Science-Religion Dialogue, with special reference to Sikh religion". I can declare without an iota of doubt that DP has more than justified my claim on his book.
The title of the book is followed by a note "Anthology of Essays on various Concepts in Sri Guru Granth Sahib" which may be considered as a sub-title to the book. Nearly a dozen titles have appeared in the global market projecting scientific vision of Sikh Gurus enshrined in the holy pages of Sri Guru Granth Sahib but there is no rival to this volume in my view till date. The coverage of topics by DP Singh is very exhaustive. All Chapters of the book open with an appropriate quotation from Science, Religion or Literature.
The book is dedicated to "Inquisitive Human Spirit" which is displayed by the author throughout this volume. The dedication is followed by the famous quote of Freeman Dyson, the renowned Physicist: "Science and religion are two windows that people look through, trying to understand the big universe outside, trying to understand why we are here. The two windows give different views, but they look out at the same universe. Both views are one-sided, neither is complete. Both leave out essential features of the real world. And both are worthy of respect". Surprisingly, Dyson is contradicted as SGGS and Science are compatible in their world-view and there is no conflict but harmony between these two
windows
A global atlas of the dominant bacteria found in soil.
No full textData from "Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Angela M. Oliverio, Tess Brewer, Alberto Benavent-González, David J. Eldridge, Richard D. Bardgett, Fernando T. Maestre, Brajesh K. Singh, Noah Fierer. A global atlas of the dominant bacteria found in soil.” There are four spreadsheets with data. The spreadsheets "Dominant_taxa" contains information on the abundance for dominant bacterial taxa. The spreadsheet "Dominant_taxa_metadata" contains the associated metadata, where a description of all the variables and units can be found.The spreadsheets "Environmental_data" contains all the environmental data used in this study. The spreadsheet "Environmental_data_metadata" contains the associated metadata, where a description of all the variables and units can be found
The Breaks — with Julietta Singh
No full textJulietta is the author of three books: No Archive Will Restore You (Punctum Books, 2018), Unthinking Mastery: Dehumanism and Decolonial Entanglements (Duke UP, 2018), and her forthcoming work of epistolary nonfiction, The Breaks (Coffee House Press and Daunt Books Originals, 2021). She is Associate Professor of English and Gender Studies at the University of Richmond, where she teaches courses on decolonial literature, the ecological humanities, and queer studies. Her academic work has been published in South Atlantic Quarterly, Women & Performance, Social Text, Cultural Critique, and Studies in Gender and Sexuality, among others. She is the recent recipient of a 2019-2020 ACLS Burkhardt Fellowship, which she held at Columbia University\u27s Institute for Research on Women, Gender and Sexuality.Her first work of creative nonfiction, No Archive Will Restore You, was featured in venues such as The Los Angeles Review of Books Radio Hour, Lambda Literary, and The Advocate, and was selected as a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award and a CLMP Firecracker Award in Creative Nonfiction. Her new book, The Breaks, takes the form of a letter to her young daughter about race, inheritance, and mothering at the end of the world. It will be released in September, 2021.Resources:— Julietta\u27s website: www.juliettasingh.com/ — Unthinking Mastery: www.dukeupress.edu/unthinking-mastery — No Archive Will Restore You: punctumbooks.com/titles/no-archiv…ill-restore-you/ — The Breaks: chbooks.com/Books/T/The-Break
Microbial modulators and mechanisms of soil carbon storage
No full textThis chapter aims to provide a mechanistic understanding of the role microbes play in soil carbon (C) storage and propose pathways to include this data to modify existing ecological models. We found that the structure and function of soil microbial communities are controlled by complex interactions of biotic and abiotic site factors, while structural variations in soil microbial communities modulate transformation and/or turnover of soil C. We also demonstrated that inclusion of different microbial groups provides better predictions for different enzymatic activities involved in C degradation. Soil bacteria differ in their survival strategies and ability to influence the terrestrial C pool. We found that the effects of soil management practices of soil C turnover are modulated by the soil aggregate sizesand their associated microbial communities. The control of soil microbial communities on soil C turnover is much more pronounced in smaller sized aggregates. Altogether we demonstrate that soil microbial communities modulate soil C turnover from regional to global scale. Based on our findings, we propose that incorporation of microbial taxonomical and functional information in Earthecosystem models will reduce uncertainty in model structure as these will represent temporal stability and adaptive responses of microbial communities and their interactions with the environment, which are critical considerations as we face environmental variations and rates of change
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