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Traditionally, the analysis of soil health has overlooked the biological component of soil due to poor understanding of connections between the microbiome and empirically measured soil health indicators. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of environmental and anthropogenic stressors on the soil microbiome, with the aim of identifying measurable soil biological indicators. Chosen soils were examined under distinct conditions to evaluate the effect of selected environmental and anthropogenic stressors on the microbiome. Soil biological responses were analyzed via enzymatic response, microbial functional genes, and microbial community. Environmental factors such as soil moisture and organic matter showed significant influence on the microbiome with each selected biological indicator showing importance. Anthropogenic factors provided various responses dependent largely on the nature of the soil amendment. This study demonstrates that in addition to traditional soil health indicators, soil biological indicators should be included in the process of determining healthy soils.

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Stewardship, a trust that we have been given to pass our Earth on to future generations so that they may benefit from its wealth as we have, is a powerful concept. The more that people can begin to understand it and harness it in order to set a course for action, the greater will be our cause for hope, and perhaps even optimism, about the future of the Earth and the lives our children will enjoy. Increasingly over the past fifteen years or so, a number of small, community-based environmental groups have embraced stewardship as a core component of their mission. While their approaches to advocacy and action are diverse, and while the foci of their work may vary, these groups hold in common a deep sense of responsibility to preserve and protect the natural resources of their home place. People engaged in the work of these groups, whether as volunteers, paid staff, or affiliates, come from a range of educational and professional backgrounds, as well as life experience. As a result, there may be a number of different reasons why they initially got involved, why they remain involved over a period of several years, and how they address any personal learning needs that arise from their involvement. Nevertheless, patterns may be discerned for all of these dynamics, across educational and professional backgrounds, as well as within and across different groups. Further, there is a potential for meaning perspective transformation from engagement in community-based environmental stewardship. This takes many forms, with the end result a significant change in one's worldview. Through a review of primary source literature produced by each of the three groups included in the study, a series of short, structured interviews with thirty participants (ten from each group), and a series of nine longer, unstructured second interviews with nine of the original thirty (three from each group), data was collected for the study. Data was analyzed first by creating profiles of the three community-based environmental stewardship groups, using the primary source literature and interview responses. Categories within the four dynamics of personal involvement (patterns of initial involvement, patterns of sustained involvement, patterns of ongoing learning, and patterns of transformation) as well as organizational dynamics (patterns of community building, group dynamics) were discerned from the data and analyzed. The results of the analysis offer a number of suggestions for stewardship educators working with community based environmental groups. However, it should be noted that findings from this research are not generalizable—the study was qualitative, and participants were not randomly selected. A number of suggestions for further research are therefore offered.

Zinc is the heavy metal occurring in the greatest concentrations in the majority of wastes in modern, industrialized communities and is a common metal found at metal-polluted sites. Phytoextraction is a plant-based remediation technology aimed at the removal of metals from contaminated sites through the use of metal-accumulating plants. Although Indian mustard (Brassica juncea Czern.) has been identified as a moderate accumulator of Zn, little is known about the Zn-phytoextraction potential of this plant and whether or not mineral nutrition could be used to improve plant growth and Zn accumulation under Zn-contaminated conditions. The objectives of this research were to determine how the Zn phytoextraction potential of B. juncea is affected by: (a) the concentration of Zn in the nutrient medium; (b) the alleviation of Zn-induced Fe deficiency; (c) the molar % ratio of NH 4+ to NO3− and (d) the concentration of N and P in the nutrient medium. The pH of nutrient solutions generally decreased with: increasing Zn supply; decreasing Fe supply; and increasing proportion of NH4+-N in nutrient solutions. The ability of B. juncea to phytoextract Zn increased with increasing Zn supply initially, but then leveled off because the increase in shoot Zn concentration was accompanied by a suppression of shoot growth. Zinc-induced Fe deficiency was found to limit the effectiveness of B. juncea to phytoextract Zn, and increased P fertility appeared to exacerbate this problem. Alleviating Fe deficiency with root applied Fe-EDDHA had a limited effect on increasing Zn phytoextraction because Zn accumulation was suppressed with increasing Fe supply. Plants concentrated more Zn in shoots and roots if plants were supplied a high proportion of NO3 −, and increasing NH4+ nutrition enhanced growth. Zinc phytoextraction was maximized if plants were supplied 90% NO3−-N and 10% NH4 +-N. Zinc accumulation in shoots increased with increasing N and P supply, but the effect of N was greater. To the extent that N was a limiting factor for growth, N additions increased plant growth, but growth was not effected by P nutrition. Increased N fertility can increase Zn phytoextraction, but the effect of P nutrition is limited.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have received much attention recently as an innovative approach to restoring and protecting valued ocean resources. The acceptability of MPAs in the U.S. will depend, to a large extent, on society's perceptions regarding the relevant costs and benefits of such areas. In order to incorporate social impact information into marine resource management decisions, it is necessary to study the values, beliefs and attitudes of affected stakeholders. The cognitive hierarchy model provides a theoretical framework for understanding relationships among these cognitions. According to this model, value orientations and beliefs can directly influence attitudes toward a particular attitude object. This study utilized the cognitive hierarchy model to investigate relationships among saltwater anglers' value orientations, beliefs and attitudes connected with MPAs. The moderating effects of recreation specialization and MPA knowledge on these relationships were also explored. Data were collected using a mail survey sent to a representative sample of private boat saltwater anglers in the Northeast United States. Attitudes were measured for four types of hypothetical MPAs ranging from least to most restrictive on saltwater anglers. Three value orientations (biocentric/anthropocentric, general marine resource values, and open access/ocean zoning) and three higher order beliefs (health of the oceans, impact of recreational fishing, and long-term effect of recreational catch reductions on fishing quality) were measured. Ocean zoning/open access value orientation and beliefs about the ocean's health were the best predictors of MPA attitudes. As hypothesized, anglers with ocean zoning value orientations hold more favorable attitudes towards marine protected areas than do anglers with open access value orientations. Similarly, anglers who believe that the oceans are in poor health hold more favorable attitudes towards marine protected areas than do anglers who believe the oceans are relatively healthy. Recreation specialization and MPA knowledge were not found to have a moderating effect for most cognitive relationships tested. However, for highly specialized anglers, the variable measuring beliefs about the impact of recreational fishing on the marine environment was significantly correlated with attitudes towards the MPA alternative allowing only “catch and release” recreational fishing. Implications of these results for marine resource policy and management are discussed.

The stress protein response (SPR) is a conserved and ubiquitous mechanism that enables cells to tolerate a wide variety of environmental insults. This response involves the preferential synthesis of an array of proteins with different molecular weights. These proteins perform a variety of functions, such as protein folding, multimeric protein assembly, steroid receptor binding, and heme catabolism. To evaluate the potential use of the SPR as a biomonitoring tool, a stepwise plan was utilized that proceeded through various physical and chemical laboratory exposures and culminated with a field validation study. The goals of the laboratory exposures were threefold: (1) determine the time required for induction of the SPR; (2) determine the dose-responsiveness of the SPR; and (3) compare the increased syntheses and accumulations of stress proteins to classical toxicological endpoints (i.e. percent mortality, LC50, LC1, etc).

No description available.