Tabari Griffin
Research Mentor: Mia Howard
Mentor Department: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, LSA
Author(s): TaBari Griffin, Hanna Petroski
Session: Session 2 (10:00 AM – 10:50 AM)
Presentation Type: Poster 97
Abstract
Nitrogen is essential for plant growth and photosynthesis, but it also plays a role in leaf litter decomposition. Prior studies have shown that there is a clear relationship between nutrient availability and rates of leaf litter decomposition. One topic that has yet to be studied is the relationship between plants that have been historically amended with nitrogen and how it will affect rates of leaf litter decomposition. For this experiment, we used the goldenrod species Solidago altissima. We took individuals from two populations, one with historically added nitrogen and the other with ambient conditions, and propagated rhizome cuttings under both contemporary added nitrogen or ambient conditions to create four distinct treatment types to examine. The plants were grown for approximately three months, after which senesced leaves were collected when possible. After being weighed and logged, each leaf will be placed in a mesh bag and buried for 30 days to undergo decomposition. Based on what we already know about nitrogen’s effect on litter decomposition rates, we expect to see differences in litter decomposition between the plants with a history of nitrogen addition and those from an ambient environment. This study will help to illustrate what evolutionary effects historical nitrogen addition can have on a given population.
