Exploring Land Use and Nutrient Availability in Brazil's Dry Tropics

In this episode of Food, Farms & Forests, Dr. Natalie Clay, an associate professor in the entomology and plant pathology department, talks about her research on decomposition in Brazil's dry tropical forests supported by the Fulbright Scholar Program, the world's largest and most diverse international education exchange program.Clay’s research investigates how changes in land use affect nutrient cycling, soil health, and decomposition rates, revealing unexpected results about sodium levels in farmed and forested lands.Clay says this research and its results are applicable in other parts of the world because dryland ecosystems make up over a third of Earth's surface."It's ultimately tied to carbon cycling at a very big global scale," Clay said. "Especially in these dryland ecosystems, even small changes in the rates of decomposition can have big effects on atmospheric carbon levels. So understanding that from a carbon cycling perspective is important."Related links:Arkansas Agricultural Experiment StationArkansas Cooperative Extension Service U of A System Division of Agriculture Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food & Life Science