MAGALHÃES, João Avelar. Características morfogênicas e estruturais, produção e composição bromatológica de gramíneas forrageiras sob irrigação e adubação. 2010. 138 f. Tese (doutorado em zootecnia)- Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza-CE, 2010. / Submitted by Elineudson Ribeiro (elineudsonr@gmail.com) on 2016-04-08T18:36:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2010_tese_jamagalhaes.pdf: 462159 bytes, checksum: 62c90234c05496576815b92ab7df214c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by José Jairo Viana de Sousa (jairo@ufc.br) on 2016-05-25T21:35:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2010_tese_jamagalhaes.pdf: 462159 bytes, checksum: 62c90234c05496576815b92ab7df214c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-25T21:35:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2010_tese_jamagalhaes.pdf: 462159 bytes, checksum: 62c90234c05496576815b92ab7df214c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of different irrigation and doses of nitrogen on the morphogenetic and structural characteristics, forage production and bromatologic composition of Andropogon gayanus var. Planaltina and Brachiaria brizantha var. Marandu. The study was conducted from August to December 2007 on Unit Research of EMBRAPA Meio-Norte, located in city of Parnaíba, Piauí, Brazil. The treatments consisted of two irrigation levels (with a equivalent level to replacement of 50% and 80% of evaporation of the Class A pan - ECA) and four doses of nitrogen (equivalent to 200, 400, 600 and 800 N/ha x year), in a completely randomized block design in a 2 x 4 factorial design with three replications. The plots measuring 3 m x 8 m, and made a cut of uniformity (in August) and four cuts to collect data every 30 days, at 20 cm the soil. In general, in grass Andropogon and Marandu, the reduction of the irrigation level, provides decreases in leaf elongation and stem elongation rate, leaf appearance and final leaf length, whereas, leaf senescence rate increases and duration of life of leaf little is affected. Leaf senescence rate of grass tended to increase ahead of the lesser water availability of the ground. The nitrogen fertilization increases the rates of elongation e leaf and stem, leaf appearance and final length of the leaf. However, it tends to reduce the number it and the duration of life of the leaf, and to extend rate senescence. The applied irrigation levels presented similar behaviors in relationship of productivity of total dry matter and of leaves. Though the level of 80% of ECA provided the largest heights of plants and smaller relation leaf/stem ratio. The largest irrigation level promoted increases of the production of stem, even so it didn't affect the production of leaves. In general the nitrogen fertilization influenced the productivity of total dry matter positively, of leaves and stem, however, it decreased the efficiency of use of the nitrogen and relation leaf/stem ratio. Increasing doses of nitrogen reduces the dry matter at the same time as the irrigation level of 80% decreasing these values, both for the leaf and to stem fraction. The irrigation level of 80% decreases the crude protein 18 contents, both for the leaf and to stem at the same time it increases the levels of ADF both for the leaf and to stem. The irrigation levels didn't affect the content of dry matter of the Andropogon grass. The largest irrigation level (80% of ECA) it promoted expressive reduction of the level of DM of the leaf of the Marandu grass and the stem of both grasses. The fertilization nitrogen didn't affect the texts of DM of the Andropogon grass. Though, in the leaves of the Marandu grass the content of DM decreased inversely in way proportional at the levels of applied nitrogen. The contents protein of the researched grasses was not influenced by the applied irrigation levels. The fertilization nitrogen increased the contents of protein of the leaves lineally and stems, and the largest texts were obtained with the applications of 600 and 800 kg the N/ha x year. The interaction fertilization nitrogen x irrigation levels increased the contents of NDF of the leaves of the Andropogon grass. The use of the largest level (80% of ECA) it promoted increments in the contents of NDF of the studied grasses. Though, the contents of NDF went inversely proportional at the fertilization levels. The contents of ADF suffered it influences negative of the largest irrigation level. The doses of fertilization nitrogen promoted decreases in the levels of FDA. In general, the fertilization nitrogen improvement in the nutritious value of Marandu grass. / Avaliou-se os efeitos de diferentes lâminas de irrigação e doses de nitrogênio (N) sobre as características morfogênicas e estruturais, produção e composição químicobromatológica dos capins Andropogon gayanus cv. Planaltina e Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu. O estudo foi conduzido no período de agosto a dezembro de 2007, na Unidade de Execução de Pesquisa da EMBRAPA Meio-Norte, localizada no município de Parnaíba, Piauí. Os tratamentos consistiram em duas lâminas de irrigação (equivalente à reposição de 50% e 80% da Evaporação do Tanque Classe A - ECA) e quatro doses de nitrogênio (equivalente a 200, 400, 600 e 800 kg de N/ha x ano), em um delineamento em blocos casualizados, em esquema fatorial 2 x 4, com três repetições. As parcelas experimentais mediam 3 m x 8 m, sendo realizado um corte de uniformização (agosto) e quatro cortes para coleta de dados a cada 30 dias, a 20 cm do solo. Em geral, nos capins estudados, a redução da lâmina de irrigação, proporcionou decréscimos nas taxas de alongamento da folha e do colmo, aparecimento de folha, comprimento final da folha e número de folhas vivas, enquanto que, taxa senescência aumenta e duração de vida de folhas é pouco afetada. A adubação nitrogenada aumentou as taxas de alongamento da folha e do colmo, aparecimento de folha e comprimento final da folha. Contudo, tendeu a reduzir o número e a duração de vida das folhas, e a ampliar a taxa senescência. As lâminas aplicadas apresentaram comportamentos semelhantes em relação à produtividade de matéria seca total e de folhas. Todavia, a lâmina de 80% de ECA proporcionou as maiores alturas de plantas e menor relação folha/colmo. A maior lâmina de irrigação promoveu aumentos da produção de colmo, porém não afetou a produção de folhas. Em geral a adubação nitrogenada influenciou positivamente a produtividade de matéria seca total, de folhas e colmos, mas, diminuiu a eficiência de utilização do nitrogênio e relação folha/colmo. As lâminas de irrigação não afetaram os teores de matéria seca (MS) das folhas do capimandropogon. A maior lâmina de irrigação promoveu redução expressiva dos teores de MS da folha do capim-marandu e colmo das duas gramíneas. A adubação nitrogenada não afetou os teores de MS do capim-andropogon. No entanto, nas folhas do capimmarandu os teores de MS decresceram inversamente proporcional aos níveis de nitrogênio aplicado. Os teores de proteína das duas gramíneas não foram influenciados pelas lâminas de irrigação. A adubação nitrogenada aumentou linearmente os teores de proteína das folhas e dos colmos. A utilização da maior lâmina promoveu incrementos nos teores de FDN dos capins estudados. Os teores de FDN foram inversamente proporcionais aos níveis de adubação. Os teores de FDA sofreram influência negativa da maior lâmina de irrigação. Os níveis de adubação nitrogenada promoveram decréscimos nos níveis de FDA. Em geral, a adubação nitrogenada promoveu melhoria no valor nutritivo do capim-marandu.

Submitted by Socorro Pontes (socorrop@ufersa.edu.br) on 2017-04-13T13:49:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 GenildoFP_TESE.pdf: 914555 bytes, checksum: d228a0712f89f6d40a7d44bfd5b02841 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Vanessa Christiane (referencia@ufersa.edu.br) on 2017-04-13T14:40:42Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 GenildoFP_TESE.pdf: 914555 bytes, checksum: d228a0712f89f6d40a7d44bfd5b02841 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Vanessa Christiane (referencia@ufersa.edu.br) on 2017-04-13T14:43:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 GenildoFP_TESE.pdf: 914555 bytes, checksum: d228a0712f89f6d40a7d44bfd5b02841 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-13T14:44:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 GenildoFP_TESE.pdf: 914555 bytes, checksum: d228a0712f89f6d40a7d44bfd5b02841 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-17 / The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the performance of Andropogon grasses (Andropogon gayanus Kunth), Buffel (Cenchrus ciliary L.) cv. Grass and Massai (Panicum maximum x Panicum infestum) at ages 21, 35, 49 and 63 days. The experiments were carried out at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Norte - IFRN Campus Apodi, in the period from June to December 2014. The evaluations were carried out in two stages, which yielded three scientific papers. In the first stage, information was addressed regarding the forage species, which were emphasized morphogenetic and structural characteristics and the production and chemical composition of corn in different regrowth ages. In the second stage, it was shown the evaluation of animal performance using hay of the three studied forages, which analyzed the nutrient intake, feeding behavior and sheep performance. For morphogenic and structural evaluation the andropogon presented late vegetative development, contrary to the development presented by buffel grass. Grasses Andropogon, Buffel and Massai increase the production of dry matter with advancing age of regrowth, the andropogon showed higher growth rates of dry matter (469.41%). It occurred only difference between the grasses and Andropogon Massai, from 49 days of regrowth. The crude protein, neutral detergent fiber and lignin components were more varied with increasing regrowth period in all forage species. In assessing the performance of animals fed with hay, it was observed that the regrowth ages influenced rumination, reducing its efficiency with advancing age. The daily weight gain of the animals fed the massaigrass hay and grass Andropogon hay did not differ, but differed from the buffel grass hay. The daily weight gain was not influenced by the age of grasses. Overall analysis showed that the thesis information interrelation helped to determine the best way to choose the forage species to the region, reaching the conclusion that in the conditions, the Massai and Andropogon grasses stood by vegetative best performance and best responses to animals. / O objetivo desta Tese foi avaliar o desempenho produtivo dos capins Andropogon (Andropogon gayanus Kunth), Buffel (Cenchrus ciliares L.) cv. Grass e Massai (Panicum maximum x Panicum infestum) nas idades de 21, 35, 49 e 63 dias. Os experimentos foram desenvolvidos no Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Norte – IFRN, Campus Apodi, no período de junho a dezembro de 2014. As avaliações foram realizadas em duas etapas, que geraram três artigos científicos. Na primeira etapa, foram abordadas informações referentes às espécies forrageiras, onde foram enfatizadas as características morfogênicas e estruturais e a produção e composição química das gramíneas nas diferentes idades de rebrota. Na segunda etapa, foi evidenciada a avaliação do desempenho animal utilizando o feno das três forrageiras estudadas, onde foi analisado o consumo de nutrientes, comportamento ingestivo e o desempenho de ovinos. Para avaliação morfogênica e estrutural o capim-andropogon apresentou desenvolvimento vegetativo tardio, contrário ao desenvolvimento apresentado pelo capim-buffel. Os capins Andropogon, Buffel e Massai aumentam a produção de matéria seca com o avanço da idade de rebrota, o capim-andropogon apresentou maiores crescimentos de matéria seca (469,41%). Ocorreu diferença apenas entre os capins Massai e Andropogon, a partir dos 49 dias de rebrota. A proteína bruta, a fibra em detergente neutro e a lignina foram os componentes que mais variaram com o aumento do período de rebrota em todas as espécies forrageiras estudadas. Na avaliação de desempenho dos animais, alimentados com feno, foi observado que as idades de rebrota influenciaram a ruminação, diminuindo sua eficiência com o avanço da idade. O ganho de peso diário dos animais alimentados com o feno de capim-massai e feno de capim-andropogon não diferiram entre si, mas diferiram do feno de capim buffel. O ganho de peso diário não foi influenciado pela idade dos capins. Em análise geral, observou-se que a inter-relação de informações da Tese contribuiu para determinar a melhor forma de eleger a espécie forrageira para a região, chegando-se a conclusão que, nas condições apresentadas, os capins Massai e Andropogon se destacaram pelo melhor desempenho vegetativo e melhores respostas aos animais / 2017-04-13

Au Burkina Faso, l’un des soucis majeurs demeure la gestion des eaux usées et excréta. Dans l’optique de trouver une alternative à l’assainissement autonome (assainissement non collectif), des technologies biologiques rustiques par cultures fixées sur supports fins, destinées aux petites et moyennes collectivités ont été expérimentées. Le premier volet du travail expérimental à consister à évaluer les performances comparées du sable et des fibres de coco en traitement d’eaux résiduaires urbaines après un processus anaérobie par lagunage. Dans une deuxième étape, ont été évaluées les performances épuratoires de filtres plantés de Andropogon gayanus Kunth et Chrysopogon nigritana (Benth) Veldkamp deux poaceae des zones tropicales. Les abattements moyens d’élimination de la pollution biodégradable sont respectivement de 99% et 98% à la sortie du filtre à sable et de celui de substrat de coco. Cependant, il y a une DCO ajoutée due à l’extraction de composés phénoliques du substrat de coco qui occulte les performances réelles de ce support de culture. Toutefois, en l’absence d’une bonne nitrification au sein du massif de substrat de coco, contrairement au sable, nous avons relevé une élimination de l’azote sous forme d’ammonium avec un rendement de 75%. Par ailleurs, ce matériau végétal par sa structure très poreuse a montré une plus grande capacité à éliminer les sels minéraux comparativement au sable. Quant aux filtres plantés de Andropogon gayanus et Chrysopogon nigritana, si les deux pilotes ont assuré des abattements de plus de 97% de la DBO5, le premier a assuré un prélèvement plus important des nutriments (N et P). / In Burkina Faso, wastewater and excreta management in the urban and rural areas remains a big concern. In order to find an alternative to on-site sanitation by the exclusive use of excreta collecting system without treatment, extensive biological processes of wastewater treatment have been experimented. At first, the comparative performances of two materials (sand and coconut fibers) were evaluated in wastewater treatment. An anaerobic pond served as the primary treatment. Then in a second step, Andropogon gayanus Kunth and Chrysopogon nigritana (Benth) Veldkamp, two tropical Poaceae, were used to treat municipal wastewater by constructed wetlands. As results, average yields of eliminating biodegradable pollution were respectively 99% and 98% for the sand filter and the coconut fibers. However, there is an added COD due to the extraction of phenolic compounds contained in the coconut fibers. This masks the real performance of this material on the COD removal. Moreover, without good nitrification in coconut substrate, a removal of nitrogen in ammonium form with a yield of 75% was founded. Thanks to its very porous structure, coconut fibers showed a greater ability to remove minerals compared to sand. The two constructed wetlands have shown good removal efficiencies of organic pollution with values above 97% of BOD5. This was enhanced by the alternating phases of feeding and resting. For nutrients, the filter planted with Andropogon gayanus provided an important removal of N and P. Chrysopogon nigritana showed the drought resistance to evapotranspiration.

Master of Science / Statistics / Nora M. Bello / Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) is a wide-ranging dominant prairie grass of ecological and agricultural importance to the US Midwest while edaphic subspecies sand bluestem (A. gerardii ssp. Hallii) grows exclusively on sand dunes. Sand bluestem exhibits phenotypic divergence related to epicuticular properties and enhanced drought tolerance relative to big bluestem. Understanding the mechanisms underlying differential drought tolerance is relevant in the face of climate change. For bluestem subspecies, presence or absence of these phenotypes may be associated with RNA transcripts characterized by low number of read counts. So called low-count transcripts pose particular inferential challenges and are thus usually filtered out at early steps of data management protocols and ignored for analyses. In this study, we use a plasmode-based approach to assess the relative performance of alternative inferential strategies on RNA-seq transcripts, with special emphasis on low-count transcripts as motivated by differential bluestem phenotypes. Our dataset consists of RNA-seq read counts for 25,582 transcripts (60% of which are classified as low-count) collected from leaf tissue of 4 individual plants of big bluestem and 4 of sand bluestem. We also compare alternative ad-hoc data filtering techniques commonly used in RNA-seq pipelines and assess the performance of recently developed statistical methods for differential expression (DE) analysis, namely DESeq2 and edgeR robust. These methods attempt to overcome the inherently noisy behavior of low-count transcripts by either shrinkage or differential weighting of observations, respectively. Our results indicate that proper specification of DE methods can remove the need for ad- hoc data filtering at arbitrary expression threshold, thus allowing for inference on low-count transcripts. Practical recommendations for inference are provided when low-count RNA-seq transcripts are of interest, as is the case in the comparison of subspecies of bluestem grasses. Insights from this study may also be relevant to other applications also focused on transcripts of low expression levels.

Master of Science / Department of Biology / Loretta Johnson / Plant epicuticular wax (ECW) isolates internal tissues from harsh external conditions increasing drought tolerance. Beta-diketone-rich ECW reflect light and result in a glaucous phenotype that may ameliorate the thermal environment of the leaf. The overall goal is to characterize the form and function of ECW in two closely related, but phenotypically divergent grasses. [italicized]Andropogon gerardii ssp. [italicized]gerardii, big bluestem, is a non-glaucous, agronomically and ecologically dominant grass in the United States while [italicized]Andropogon gerardii ssp. [italicized]hallii, sand bluestem, is a glaucous subspecies restricted to dry, sandy soils. The objectives are to contrast sand and big bluestem ECW chemistry, morphology, and physiology to determine the distinctions in ECW resulting in the glaucous phenotype and determine the effect this has on leaf optical qualities and permeability. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to examine ECW chemistry and micromorphology. It was hypothesized that beta-diketones and beta-diketone tubules where present only in leaves of sand bluestem and that the ECW was more reflective and abundant and the cuticle was less permeable. Beta-diketones and tubular ECW were absent in big bluestem and common on sand bluestem’s surface, although less than 20% of ECW was beta-diketones. Functional implications of ECW phenotypes were investigated by comparing minimum conductance (G[subscript]min), wax load, reflectance, and transmittance. Reflectance, with and without ECW, and G [subscript]min were measured with an infrared gas analyzer and a spectroradiometer, respectively. Sand bluestem had twice the ECW in mg cm[superscript]2 (P=.01) and three times lower G [subscript]min in ms[superscript]-1 10[superscript]-5 (P=.02). Partial least squares (PLS) models were trained to predict subspecies from reflectance spectra and were able to distinguish the subspecies. These experiments indicate that in comparison to big bluestem, increased reflectance is a property uniquely imparted to sand bluestem by ECW and the presence of beta-diketones determines the distinction. Glaucous crop species have shown higher yield under drought and extreme weather, including drought, is expected to become more common. Therefore, this study of glaucous waxes, may be applied in engineering drought tolerance.

Ecological theory predicts that high environmental heterogeneity causes high biodiversity. Theory further predicts that more biodiversity results in greater ecosystem functioning. These theoretical predictions were evaluated in three studies using grassland restorations from agriculture.

Au Burkina Faso, l'un des soucis majeurs demeure la gestion des eaux usées et excréta. Dans l'optique de trouver une alternative à l'assainissement autonome (assainissement non collectif), des technologies biologiques rustiques par cultures fixées sur supports fins, destinées aux petites et moyennes collectivités ont été expérimentées. Le premier volet du travail expérimental à consister à évaluer les performances comparées du sable et des fibres de coco en traitement d'eaux résiduaires urbaines après un processus anaérobie par lagunage. Dans une deuxième étape, ont été évaluées les performances épuratoires de filtres plantés de Andropogon gayanus Kunth et Chrysopogon nigritana (Benth) Veldkamp deux poaceae des zones tropicales. Les abattements moyens d'élimination de la pollution biodégradable sont respectivement de 99% et 98% à la sortie du filtre à sable et de celui de substrat de coco. Cependant, il y a une DCO ajoutée due à l'extraction de composés phénoliques du substrat de coco qui occulte les performances réelles de ce support de culture. Toutefois, en l'absence d'une bonne nitrification au sein du massif de substrat de coco, contrairement au sable, nous avons relevé une élimination de l'azote sous forme d'ammonium avec un rendement de 75%. Par ailleurs, ce matériau végétal par sa structure très poreuse a montré une plus grande capacité à éliminer les sels minéraux comparativement au sable. Quant aux filtres plantés de Andropogon gayanus et Chrysopogon nigritana, si les deux pilotes ont assuré des abattements de plus de 97% de la DBO5, le premier a assuré un prélèvement plus important des nutriments (N et P).

Plasticidade fenotípica é a capacidade de um organismo alterar sua fisiologia e/ou morfologia em decorrência de suas interações com o meio, podendo resultar em uma maior tolerância às modificações ambientais. Tendo em vista que a seleção natural age sobre o fenótipo, a plasticidade fenotípica se caracteriza como um importante mecanismo gerador de variabilidade populacional. Em populações com grande potencial plástico pode ocorrer a formação de ecótipos, gerando populações geneticamente adaptadas às condições do seu local de origem. Este estudo teve como objetivo principal verificar a ocorrência de variações fenotípicas e a formação de ecótipos em duas populações de Andropogon lateralis subsp. lateralis do Rio Grande do Sul, provenientes de duas regiões fisiográficas, Depressão Central e Campos de Cima da Serra. As plantas foram cultivadas em casa de vegetação e avaliadas quanto a seus padrões de respostas fisiológicas, morfológicas e fenológicas a três níveis de adubação nitrogenada e a dois regimes hídricos. As populações apresentaram o mesmo padrão de resposta fotossintética, mas mostraram diferentes respostas quanto a atributos morfológicos, demonstrando diferenças em sua habilidade de responder às influências ambientais. Observou-se também uma assincronia temporal na floração das populações das duas regiões. Os resultados obtidos indicam a formação de ecótipos morfológicos para a espécie e a importância da variabilidade genética nos processos adaptativos e evolutivos nas regiões fisiográficas do Rio Grande do Sul. / Phenotypic plasticity is the capacity of an organism to modify its physiology andJor morphology as the result of interaction with the environment, which may result in an enhanced tolerance to environmental variation. Phenotypic plasticity generates populational variability, since natural selection acts on the phenotype. Ecotypes may appear among populations with significant plastic potential, which will then generate populations genetically adapted to the conditions of their habitats. The main aim of the present study was to verify the occurrence of phenotypic variations and the formation of ecotypes in two populations of Andropogon lateralis subsp. lateralis in Rio Grande do Sul, originating from two physiographic regions - the Depressão Central and Campos de Cima da Serra. The plants were grown in greenhouses and evaluated from the point of view of their physiological, morphological and phenological responses, first at three levels of nitrogen availability and second, under two sets of water availability conditions. The populations presented the same standard of photosynthetic response, but gave different responses regarding morphological attributes, thereby demonstrating differences in their ability to respond to environmental influences. Asynchronism of the flowering period was also noted in the populations from the two regions. The results obtained indicate the formation of morphological ecotypes with regard to the species and underline the importance of phenotypic plasticity in the adaptive and evolutive processes in the physiographic regions of Rio Grande do Sul.

Root productivity likely has consequences for the composition, activity, and recovery of soil microbial populations and the belowground processes mediated by these organisms. In tallgrass prairie, ecotypic variation potentially exists in response to a strong precipitation gradient across the Great Plains. Thus, ecotypic variation within a species may differentially affect belowground net primary productivity (BNPP), the associated soil microbial community, and may scale up to affect ecosystem processes. The goals of this study were to elucidate: (1) whether ecotype, environment, or an ecotype by environment interaction regulate BNPP of a dominant species (Andropogon gerardii) collected from and reciprocally planted in common gardens across a precipitation gradient, and (2) whether variation in BNPP scales to affect microbial biomass and ecosystem processes. I quantified root biomass, BNPP (using root ingrowth bags), soil microbial biomass, and nutrient mineralization rates in root-ingrowth cores below six population sources of A. gerardii (2 Illinois, 2 eastern Kansas, and 2 central Kansas) established in southern Illinois, eastern Kansas, and central Kansas. An ecotype effect was found on above and belowground net primary productivity, but these findings did not translate to soil response variables. Microbial populations themselves may affect the productivity and composition of prairie species. In a second study, soil ecological knowledge (SEK) was tested by applying a native prairie soil slurry amendment to restoration plots to determine efficacy of this method as a restoration practice. The goals of this two year study were to elucidate: (1) whether a slurry amendment of prairie soil would increase above and belowground productivity and belowground ecosystem processes in a prairie restoration, and (2) to evaluate whether differences in plant diversity will scale to affect belowground productivity and ecosystem processes. I quantified aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and species composition, as well as root biomass, belowground net primary productivity (BNPP), soil microbial biomass, and nutrient mineralization rates in root-ingrowth cores installed in treated and control plots. A treatment effect was noted on root biomass and total PLFA biomass; however, there was no treatment effect on cover, ANPP, or soil microbial processes. Though the soil microbial community did represent native prairie soil, there was poor establishment of prairie plant species. These factors may be due to the limited time available for data collection and the lack of precipitation in the second growing season. Longer studies may be necessary to fully examine the effects of soil slurry amendments as restoration tools.

The tallgrass prairie has been severely reduced in size, making restoration important to maintain communities and functions of this ecosystem. A chronosequence approach was used to determine recovery of physical and biological soil properties. The recovery models of soil properties provided information to explain the variation in total C stock of the whole soil. Recovery models also provided information to design a competition experiment based on variation in whole soil conditions with land use history. The filter framework hypothesis is a useful concept for examining tallgrass prairie restoration; the theory states only a subset of species in the region will be able to establish in a specific location due to abiotic and biotic filters. With this theory in mind, I explored the influence of whole soil conditions as affected by land use history (cultivation/restoration) and how these conditions altered plant-plant competition dynamics of a dominant grass was studied. Belowground plant biomass recovers with cessation of tillage and restoration back to prairie, providing an organic matter source for microbial populations to recover and soil macroaggregates to form. This has potential to increase C sequestration in soils and decrease nitrous oxide efflux from soils. Intact 5.5 cm dia cores were collected to a depth of 10 cm in each field to determine physical and biological soil properties. Belowground plant, microbial community, and soil structure properties were modeled to recover coinciding with an increase in total C stock of the whole soil. Structural equation modeling revealed that soil structure physically protecting organic matter explained the most variation in soil carbon sequestration with restoration. Most of the total C was contained within the macroaggregate size fraction; within this fraction most of that C is within the microaggregates within macroaggregates fraction. Soil structure is critical for recovery of soil carbon stocks and the microaggregate within macroaggregate fraction is the best diagnostic of sequestered C. ANCOVA results indicate that while the slopes of nitrous oxide efflux rates did not differ, cumulative efflux differed, though this was not related to time since restoration. Dominant grasses, such as Andropogon gerardii, can exclude subordinate species from grassland restorations. Thus, understanding changes in competition dynamics of dominant grasses could help maintain richness in grassland restorations. There may be changes in competition dynamics with whole soil conditions affected by land use history (cultivation/restoration) as plant available nutrients will decrease, microbial populations will increase, and soil structure will improve with restoration from cultivation to prairie. Using 4 soil treatments of varying land use history with four species treatments, to determine if effects are general or species specific, pairwise substitution competition experiments were conducted. Relative A. gerardii response to competition was compared among soil and species treatments using competition intensity and competition importance indices utilizing final plant biomass, relative growth rate based on maximum height, and net absolute tiller appearance rate. The experiment was conducted over 18 weeks, allowing A. gerardii to flower. A significant intensity result and significant importance results utilizing biomass measurements indicated that the 16 year restored prairie soil cause A. gerardii to be a relatively better competitor against forbs than in all other soils except for cultivated soil, likely due to positive plant-soil feedbacks. Significant importance results utilizing tiller appearance rate indicated that the cultivated and 3 year restored prairie soil caused A. gerardii to be a relatively better competitor than in the 16 year restored and never cultivated native prairie soils, likely due to changes in whole soil conditions related to land use history. There were only general soil effects, as soil treatments did not interact with species treatments. A. gerardii was a relatively better competitor against non-leguminous forbs, indicating that legumes are a better competitor for a limiting nutrient than A. gerardii or that this species is not in direct competition with legumes.