My research in the Cape Cod area focuses on the effects of nitrogen deposition from vehicular traffic on N cycling processes in soils and as potential sources of nitrogen inputs to coastal embayments and estuaries. Local traffic may be an underestimated contributer to nitrogen saturation in terrestrial ecosystems and to coastal eutrophication problems. Specifically we study:
Nitrogen in precipitation, dry deposition, throughfall (rain falling through tree canopies), soil, vegetation, and road runoff near major roadways on the Cape
Microbial processes of N mineralization, nitrification, and denitrification in soils in laboratory incubations
The local network of paved surfaces (using geographic information system databases) in relation to the sensitivity of coastal zones to eutrophication caused by N inputs
