Department of Soil Science

Teri Balser chosen to direct the Institute for Cross-College Biology Education! Created in 2004 to improve the teaching of biology — a subject that spans nearly every UW–Madison school and college — ICBE oversees courses and programs for thousands of undergraduates. Read an interview with Teri: <http://www.news.wisc.edu/15643>

Alumni Survey ... The Department of Soil Science is undergoing a ten-year review of our programs and activities this fall and we need feedback from our alumni regarding the education you received here and your experiences with the Department. If you graduated with a degree in soil science (or were advised by a soil science faculty) within the last ten years or so, please take a few minutes to participate in the Soil Science Graduates Survey. All responses will be treated with full confidentiality and results will be reported only in aggregate.

Phil Barak’s latest research with the mineral struvite is highlighted in UW’s News: Soil scientist's fascination with mineral yields plan for battling it. The article can be found at http://www.news.wisc.edu/15422

The Wisconsin State Journal highlighted Joel Pedersen’s research on survival of prion proteins during wastewater treatment. The article, titled ‘Prions Can Survive Sewage Treatment’, was published in July 22, and can be found at http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=/wsj/2008/07/22/0807220025.php. The citation of the full research article is listed below.

Birl Lowery and Pete Nowak organized a special symposium at the Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual Conference on conservation issues related to the Midwest floods. The symposia was held on Tuesday, July 29th in Tucson, Arizona. A copy of the Abstract book can be downloaded from http://www.swcs.org/en/conferences/2008_annual_conference/

Bill Hickey has submitted a proposal to NSF entitled “Discovery of nanotubes in Burkholderia sp. Cs1-4” (July 08). This research explores the formation of extracellular tubular structures by Burkholderia, a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacterium isolated from PAH-contaminated soil in Wisconsin. These nanotubes are oblong structures surrounded by a proteinaceous coat, several micrometers in length and 10-50 nm wide, and are present both in cells grown in culture and in biofilms using a PAH as C source. A gene encoding one nanotube protein has been identified (NtbA) and sequenced. This gene was also found in an array of related and unrelated bacteria, which also grow nanotubes both in culture and biofilm conditions. The proposal seeks to discover the roles that these new structures may play in how these organisms interact with their soil environment.

Some Publications from our Faculty during 2008

• Murphy, M., T. Balser, N. Buchmann, et al. 2008. Linking tree biodiversity to belowground process in a young tropical plantation: Impacts on soil CO2 flux. Forest Ecology and Management 255(7):2577-2588.


• Thompson, A.M., A.C. Paul, and N.J. Balster. 2008. Physical and hydraulic properties of engineered soil media for bioretention basins. Transactions of the ASABE 51(2):499-514.


• Ranatunga, T.D., R.W. Taylor, C.P. Schulthess, D.R.A. Ranatunga, W.F. Bleam, and Z.N. Senwo. 2008. Lead sorption on phosphate-pretreated kaolinite: Modeling, aqueous speciation, and thermodynamics. Soil Science 173(5):321-331.  


• Scharenbroch, B.C. and J.G. Bockheim. 2008. The effects of gap disturbance on nitrogen cycling and retention in late successional northern hardwood-hemlock forests. Biogeochemistry 87:231-245.


• Scharenbroch, B.C. and J.G. Bockheim. 2008. Gaps and soil C dynamics in old growth northern hardwood-hemlock forests. Ecosystems 11:426-441.


• Lindroth, R. and J.G. Bockheim. 2008. Independent, interactive, and species-specific responses of leaf litter decomposition to elevated CO2 and O3 in a northern hardwood forest. Ecosystems 11:505-519. 


• Bockheim, J.G., I.B. Campbell, and M. McLeod. 2008. Use of soil chronosequences for testing the existence of high-water-level lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Catena 74:144-152.


• Jencova, V., H. Strnad, Z. Chodora, P. Ulbrich, C. Vlcek, W.J. Hickey, and V. Paces. 2008. Nucleotide sequence, organization and characterization of the (halo)aromatic acid catabolic plasmid pA81 from Achromobacter xylosoxidans A8. Research in Microbiology 159(2):118-127.


• C. A. M. Laboski, J. E. Sawyer, D. T. Walters, L. G. Bundy, R. G. Hoeft, G. W. Randall, and T. W. Andraski. 2008. Evaluation of the Illinois Soil Nitrogen Test in the North Central Region of the United States. Agron. J. 100:1070-1076.


• Kang, S.J., H. Lin, W.J. Gburek, G.J. Folmar, and B. Lowery. 2008. Baseflow Nitrate in Relation to Stream Order and Agricultural Land Use. J. Environ. Qual. 37:808-816. 


• Panuska, J.C., K.G. Karthikeyan, and J.M. Norman. 2008. Sediment and phosphorus losses in snowmelt and rainfall runoff from three corn management systems. Trans. of ASABE, 51(1):


• Hinckley, G.T., C.J. Johnson, K. Jacobson, C. Bartholomay, K.D. McMahon, D. McKenzie, J.M. Aiken, J.A. Pedersen. 2008. Persistence of Pathogenic Prion Protein during Simulated Wastewater Treatment Processes. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42(14):5254-5259.


• Bialk, H.M., J.A. Pedersen. 2008. NMR Investigation of Enzymatic Coupling of Sulfonamide Antimicrobials with Humic Substances. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42(1):106-112.


• Sibley, S. D., J.A. Pedersen. 2008. Interaction of the Macrolide Antimicrobial Clarithromycin with Dissolved Humic Acid. Environ. Sci. Technol. 42(2):422-428.