Completed Research Projects
Environmental Conservation
Reaching the potential for renewable biofuels depends on the development of new technologies that are able to release the energy stored in cellulose fibers. This research project centers around an unusual microbe, Clostridium phytofermentans, that can convert a broad range of biomass sources directly to ethanol without expensive thermochemical pretreatment. Further development of conversion processes using C. phytofermentans will create a path to renewable biofuels using our region's sustainable forestry and crop resources.
Energy
Nearly all food and agricultural waste in the U.S. enters landfills, making it the largest contributor of material entering these sites. Biological pre-treatment of large organic molecules by fermentative organisms lowers the high organic carbon load in waste, lowers wastewater treatment costs, and can produce bioenergy to partially offset costs. Conceivably, microbes that grow best above 80°C, or so-called ‘hyperthermophiles’, could be used to consolidate wastewater heat treatment and organic remediation in a single step to decrease costs while producing H2 as an energy product.
The expansive growth of solar photovoltaics (PV) in Massachusetts has helped make the state a leader in renewable energy production, but there have been public concerns regarding the development of agricultural lands for solar PV electricity production. In response to these concerns, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) included provisions in the new state solar energy program which limit conventional ground-mounted solar arrays on farmland, while encouraging innovative "dual-use" technology. Under the new Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program, there is a significant financial incentive for dual-use systems which limit shading and obstructions, and require continued agricultural production on the land below and around solar arrays.
A home that has been designed according to LEED green building standards may not necessarily be sustainable unless the systems operations and maintenance are tuned up and owners are. This project will include environmental audits of fourteen LEED-certified homes in New England at least twelve months after they were occupied. Findings will be evaluated by comparing baseline (predicted) performance data (LEED documentation) with actual operational data in order to identify the issues that effect sustainability.
Current agricultural practices on available arable land will not meet the nutritional needs of a population that will reach nine billion people by the middle of this century (Ray et al. 2013). In parallel, climate change will increase extreme weather events, including drought (Dai, 2011, Trenberth et al., 2014), and continued urbanization of farmland is eliminating arable land (Song et al. 2015). There is a clear need for sustainable agricultural innovations that can increase yields and provide food security without incurring environmental degradation. Soil microbes are known to form associations with plants and affect plant health, and in recent years, interest has grown in exploiting the beneficial associations that plants establish with microbes. The plant microbiome abounds with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) that can help plants acquire more nutrients from the soil and tolerate stressors like drought (Barnawal et al. 2013, Bresson et al. 2014). PGPR can also control plant pathogens (Chowdhury et al. 2013), promote beneficial mycorrhizal colonization (Labbe et al. 2014), and produce potentially valuable secondary metabolites (Raaijmakers et al. 2012). Finding ways to harness these beneficial microbes to improve crop growth and yield has the potential to ameliorate the challenges imposed by the world's growing population and environmental degradation.
Food banks are major consumers of energy related to food handling and storage as well as major customers for local food producers. Energy efficiency and cost reduction in food banks could have synergistic benefits for both types of enterprise. This project will develop a process map to integrate energy and food handling audits tio help identify key nodes for effective energy efficiency and food safety interventions. By evaluating technological innovation in the context of the local post-harvest food system the food banks can optimize energy efficiency and food safety.
This multidisciplinary project will promote the use of biochar and bio-oil generated from agricultural/forest organic wastes to enhance small farm sustainability through providing renewable fuel, and improving soil quality and crop productivity, and to improve the environment through sequestrating greenhouse gases and reducing the mobility and exposure of contaminants in soils.
This project will examine the effect of natural diversity on biofuel production efficiency by using a grass energy model organism (Brachypodium distachyon), and treatment with both biological and thermochemical conversion.
Reaching the potential for renewable biofuels depends on the development of new technologies that are able to release the energy stored in cellulose fibers. This research project centers around an unusual microbe, Clostridium phytofermentans, that can convert a broad range of biomass sources directly to ethanol without expensive thermochemical pretreatment. Further development of conversion processes using C. phytofermentans will create a path to renewable biofuels using our region's sustainable forestry and crop resources.
Water
This project utilizes robotic submersible technology to characterize submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) blooms in the Charles River in Massachusetts.
Global climate change is altering the Earth's natural cycling of water from the ground to the air and back again, what is known as the hydrologic cycle. In New England, climate change is predicted to increase temperatures and increase the frequency and strength of rain events. The increased temperatures will result in less snow accumulation in the winter and an increased need for irrigation in the hotter summer as evapo-transpiration increases. This will alter significantly the recharge/extraction cycle. Will less water enter groundwater aquifers because of reduced snow fall? Will enough water recharge the aquifers to offset the amount extracted in the summer for irrigation? Certainly the timing of recharge will change. These changes will require a better understanding of recharge rates and a better characterization of groundwater aquifers; the volume of water present and its availability. Understanding the seasonal timing and rates of groundwater recharge is critical to maintaining a sustainable water supply. Importantly, how will these changes in the hydrolgical cycle effect sustainable agricultural practices?
This project involves monitoring the levels and locations of EDCs (endocrine disrupting compounds) in the Assabet River of eastern Massachusetts to advance the protection of the aquatic environment.
Researchers will evaluate the potential use of field indicators of hydric soils to characterize wetland hydroperiods with respect to frequency, depth, and duration of water table fluctuations; test the effectiveness of proposed hydric soil indicators to identify 'problem hydric soils'; test monitoring protocols used to identify reducing conditions to determine if they are effective within a range of soil conditions within the Northeast; and investigate the hydraulic properties of hydromorphic soils with episaturation.
This project has three components to increase sustainability in Massachusetts cranberry production:
- development and demonstration of sustainable practices for the management of the most severe pest problems: cranberry fruitworm, fruit rot disease, and the parasitic weed dodder.
- investigation of practices to conserve water and fuel.
- work with growers to implement nutrient management Best Management Practices (BMPs).
This project will study and numerically model road salt impact on water quality in a typical aquifer in eastern Massachusetts.
This study will examine threats to water security and potential impacts on water quantity and quality in watershed systems. The main goal of the study is to evaluate the effects of land use, extreme precipitation, and climatic stressors on water security (quantity and quality) and potential mitigation opportunities at a river basin scale. Geographic Information Systems (GIS), uncertainty analysis, simulation modeling, and a multi-attribute decision framework will be used to evaluate and advance water security in watershed systems.
With increased pressure to utilize more practical, ecological and economically feasible strategies to manage turfgrasses, research is needed to identify best management practices to preserve water resources. The primary goal is to increase sustainability of turfgrass by addressing water conservation issues, including (i) efficient irrigation strategies based on actual turfgrass water use, (ii) drought resistant species and cultivars, and (iii) an artificial wetland system to aid in preservation of water quality from managed turf settings.
Food Science
Nanotechnology is defined by the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) as “…the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable applications. Here in this proposal, we aim to develop four nanotechnology enabled solutions to improve food quality, safety and nutrition. A major trend in the modern food industry has been the development of functional foods designed to improve human health and wellbeing. Consumption of these foods may reduce the incidences of chronic diseases (such as cardiovascular disease, eye disease, diabetes, cancer, and hypertension) or improve human performance (such as alertness, activity levels, memory, and stamina).
Producing shelf-stable acidified canned foods can help to add value to produce and introduce new markets, extend the agricultural season, and reduce waste. However, to successfully sell and distribute shelf-stable products, such as salsas, sauces, and/or acidified pickled products, processors must comply with the Code of Federal Regulations (21CFR114). This project providesopen-access to the development of 12 shelf-stable acidified canned food recipes that were converted into scale-appropriate product formulations that includes the scheduled process that identifies the appropriate food safety controls that were approved by a Process Authority.
This research focuses on utilizing emulsion technologies to allow omega-3 fatty acid incorporation into foods and to increase the bioavailability of these important dietary fats.
Dietary factors are important predictors of long term health and the incidence of chronic disease. Laboratory methods will be employed, primarily in vitro models, such as in vitro digestion and tissue cultures, which will be used to evaluate the bioactivity of nutrients and other food bioactives to understand the mechanisms. The investigator will seek to advance the science of defining the role of bioactive dietary constituents for optimal human health. This will provide fertile grounds for ongoing collaborations and future collaborative research and grant proposal development.
Value-added Food
Producing shelf-stable acidified canned foods can help to add value to produce and introduce new markets, extend the agricultural season, and reduce waste. However, to successfully sell and distribute shelf-stable products, such as salsas, sauces, and/or acidified pickled products, processors must comply with the Code of Federal Regulations (21CFR114). This project providesopen-access to the development of 12 shelf-stable acidified canned food recipes that were converted into scale-appropriate product formulations that includes the scheduled process that identifies the appropriate food safety controls that were approved by a Process Authority.
Climate Change
The concept of the current experiment is to study carbon storage and possible cycling in soils which alternate between saturation and nonsaturated conditions on an annual basis. To allow the data to be considered robust, or applicable to numerous locations and soil types it will be necessary to have multiple years of data, but to also have data that 'repeats' or replicates itself. Statisticians contend that replicate study areas are required, but it may be that the soil environment is different enough from one place to another that the least variability within the data will come from multiple or replicate data stations within a single area.
The goals and objectives of the project are: To better understand the hydrological, biogeochemical and pedological properties and processes that affect SOM decomposition, CO2 and CH4 greenhouse gas fluxes, and C sequestration in depressional wetland ecosystems, as expressed across geographical and climatic gradients. I also hope to determine the relationship between soil and air temperature and accumulated soil C stocks and fluxes in depressional wetland systems, to determine the relationship between hydroperiod (i.e. duration of saturation and inundation) and accumulated soil C stocks and fluxes in depressional wetlands. Finally, I will seek to develop morphological indices of the hydroperiod within depressional wetlands in order to estimate or predict C
stocks.
Communities across the country are face challenges from climate change. However, changes in municipal regulations take years to significantly change the buildings and infrastructure that make up our cities and towns. As a result, it is essential that communities begin now to adapt their built form regulations so that as climate impacts worsen, harm is minimized. Outside of the major cities, it is not clear how many communities have taken steps toward climate change adaptation. There are a range of ways that communities could progress local adaptation policy, including preparing adaptation plans, including climate projections into other policy, or increasing resilience to current hazards and hoping that will help with intensified future risks. To explore these issues, this project will pilot a web-trawler that can identify adaptation actions at the local level in the New England region, and compare these to the situations of the communities. We will also survey Regional Planning Agencies and a sample of communities in the region. Taken together, this work will allow us to identify the status and types of adaptation actions underway in the region, the goals and barriers they are designed to address, and characterize these connections.
Three temperate forage grass species (Lolium perrene, Festuca arundinacea, and Dactylis glomerata) will be grown in 6x10 ft plots under field conditions over the summer at the University of Massachusetts Crop and Animal Research and Education Farm in South Deerfield, Massachusetts. Each species will be grown in 10 replicates for a total of 30 plots. Five replicates of eachs pecies will be treated as well-watered controls and their soil moisture maintained above 25%, while the other five replicates will remain under a water-reduced treatment, receiving no rain or supplemental water. Water reduction will be imposed through the use of rain-out shelters. The shelters will have sides that could roll up and down in order to maintain ambient temperature and allow maximum air flow through the plots on dry days, but will be rolled down on rainy days to keep the water out. Water-reduction conditions will last for 10 weeks, after which rain shelters will be removed and rewatering begins over a period of three weeks in order to stepwise return soil moisture content to above 25%.
Microbial community composition: Throughout the water reduction period, bacterial communities will be sampled once a week for a total of 10 samples and an additional three times during the recovery period. Several mature but not senescent leaves will be collected from each plot for DNA extraction and bacterial cell counts in order to capture a representative community of the whole plot. Samples will be prepared for 16S rRNA sequencing using the Illumina MiSeq platform in two separate pools. Plant health measurements: To understand how bacterial communities change in relation to changes in the plant, several plant health measurements will be taken. Leaf relative water content, electrolyte leakage, chlorophyll, and soil moisture will be measured every week. Additionally, non-destructive biomass measurements will be taken periodically by measuring leaf height and plot coverage. Plot coverage will be estimated using an elevated quadrat device. At the end of the water reduction period, plots will be divided in half and destructive biomass sampling of one half will provide above ground fresh weight and dry weight measurements. Additionally, roots will be sampled in 15 cm increments to a depth of 60 cm. After soil removal roots will be dried and dry mass measured.
Nitrogen fixation rates by leaf microbes: Samples will be collected during field studies in the summer and used to quantify potential and actualized nitrogen fixation in the phyllosphere. Additional questions will be focused on understanding how phyllosphere BNF is impacted by plant host species, temporal dynamics, drought, and recovery. To determine the rate of BNF,stable isotope probing will be conducted at 6 different time points. Three samples will be taken during the drought period (week6, 7, 10) and three each week during recovery. Rate of nitrogen fixation will be determined by measuring incorporation of thestable isotope 15N into the leaf tissue. Leaf cuts of known area will be incubated in an artificial atmosphere containing 80% 15N and 20% O2 for 48 hours under ambient light and temperature. Corresponding control samples will be incubated under normal atmosphere to determine natural 15N abundance. After incubation, samples will be dried at 70°C, weighed, finely ground, and 1-2 mg of plant powder will be weighed in tin capsules and sent to a collaborator at the University of Vienna to determine 15N incorporation using a continuous-flow isotope ratio mass spectrometer. Nitrogen fixation rates can then be determined using the following equation where Nleaf is foliar N concentration, Mr is molecular weight of 15N, and t is incubation time:N2-Fix = Nleaf x (at%15Nsample - at%15Ncontrol)/100 x 103/Mr/tBacterial DNA samples corresponding to each timepoint will be taken to determine the absolute abundance of nitrogen fixing bacteria at each time point as well as to determine their taxonomic identity. The absolute quantity of nitrogen fixing bacteria per leaf area for each of the grass species and treatments will also be determined for the same time points using qPCR of the nifH gene. Next, the rate of nitrogen fixation per nifH copy number will be determined for each grass species under normal and water-stressed conditions. By comparing the three grass host species we will gain a better understanding of how phyllosphere BNF inputs are impacted by plant host species. By directly comparing rates under normal and stressed conditions we will understand how BNF will be influenced in the future by climate stress. Identification of nitrogen fixing members of the bacterial community will be achieved by sequencing the phylogenetic marker genes nifH using the Illumia MiSeq platform. nifH identity,diversity, and richness will be added to the models to better understand biological nitrogen fixation in the phyllosphere.
Global climate change affects every aspect of our life. Global warming increases the intensity of drought, which leads to the increase in frequency and severity of forest fires. Beyond being a source of soot and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), severe wildfires/forest fires can damage soils, water quality and quantity, fisheries, plant communities, wildlife habitat, and endangered species; result in economic and property loss; and cause harms to the environment and public health. Forest thinning or prescribed burns reduce the accumulation of hazardous fuels and restore forest health. The major cause of global warming is the ever-increasing concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere from the use of carbon-based fuels. Biochar, the anaerobic pyrolysis productof biomass waste material, has attracted research interest as a soil amendment that may improve soil structure, moisture retention, and buffering capacity, and that helps control plant root diseases and sequester carbon in soils (instead of release to air as CO2), as a result, mitigate greenhouse effect. Therefore, the goal of this proposed project is to utilize wood waste materials to produce biochar which can be used in both forest and agricultural soils to improve soil quality, sequester carbon in soils, and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases (e.g., CO2 and N2O).
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