![]() “The biological soil crusts in Argentina are important to the United States because if their cover and abundance can be calculated, they can potentially be used as a proxy or a measurement for global climate change,” he said. “The research went as I thought with regard to results, but I learned much more than I thought about planning field campaigns, analyzing data and international communication.”įountain’s research has international implications. “I learned about the ecological role of biological soil crusts, their community dynamics, their importance to the local environment and their potential as a proxy for a representing the magnitude of climate change,” Fountain said. Going to Argentina gave him a different perspective and an opportunity to use his Spanish. “What attracted me to the research was the ability to help plan and carry out a large-scale research project, from step one all the way to the end publication paper,” Fountain said.įountain said there has been extensive research into soil crusts in the United States. He said this soil has very little to do with growing crops and more to do with increasing the fixed nitrogen levels, which move through the whole ecosystem, allowing growth and expansion.įountain broke his research into three parts: fieldwork involving collection of samples laboratory work to analyze their chemical and physical characteristics and data computation to generate charts and graphs. Hayes Fountain’s study of soil crusts in Argentina has implications for measuring the effects of global climate change. Very few groups of organisms can fix nitrogen, which is necessary for plant growth, which is necessary to feed cows and other animals, which are in turn necessary for human consumption.” They also cycle many important nutrients, such as nitrogen, through fixation, and carbon, through respiration and photosynthesis. “They provide stabilization for the soil because of the filaments that they grow into the soil when establishing their communities. ![]() “Biological soil crusts are communities of living organisms on the soil surface in many very arid areas of the world,” Fountain said. Hayes Fountain’s Harrison research project took the Charlottesville native, a biology and Spanish major, to Argentina to study biological soil crusts, the thin layer of living soil near and on the soil surface that plays a major role in facilitating all life that comes from the soil. Here’s a look at three of the projects that flowed from the last round of Harrison grants. The students’ research manifests itself in many ways and in many different fields, as they explore the world around them. The University has announced 46 grants for 50 students in this year’s round. ![]() ![]() Research has emerged as a cornerstone of the undergraduate student experience at the University of Virginia, with increasing numbers of students pursuing extracurricular explorations in science and the humanities.Īs further encouragement, the University offers Harrison Undergraduate Research Awards, giving students opportunities to pursue faculty-mentored projects over the summer with up to $3,000 to cover their expenses. ![]()
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