Emily Lacroix

Because soils store vast amounts of carbon,  which have the potential to be converted to greenhouse gases (GHGs) via microbial respiration, understanding the mechanisms of soil organic matter (SOM) stabilization is integral to modelling and mitigating global climate change. I study SOM dynamics, particularly how oxygen availability influences SOM turnover, the conversion of SOM to GHGs. I aim to develop non-destructive techniques for quantifying, imaging, and interpreting oxygen diffusion, or lack thereof, in soils and investigate how various land-use practices and climate stressors affect soil oxygen availability and subsequent SOM dynamics.

Funding:

09.2017 -  09.2020: National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

Publications:

Lacroix, E.M., Petrenko, C.L., Friedland, A.F.. 2016. Evidence for Losses From Strongly Bound SOM Pools After Clear Cutting in a Northern Hardwood Forest. Soil Science. 181(5): 202-207.

Petrenko, Cl., Bradley-Cook, J., Lacroix, E.M., Friedland, A.F., Virginia, R.A. 2016. Comparison of carbon and nitrogen storage in mineral soils of graminoid and shrub tundra sites, western Greenland. Arctic Science. 2(4): 165-182.