Frontier Fellow 2023-2024:
Jennifer Valadez
Title of Research Project: “Soil Carbon Storage in Restored Grasslands”
Summary:
Spatial and temporal variability of soil carbon storage after grassland restoration at UC Santa Cruz’s Younger Lagoon Reserve grasslands via mineral associated organic matter (MAOM) and particulate associate organic matter (POM), which will be the key to understanding carbon content.
Jennifer is a 3rd year environmental science major at UCSC and hope to graduate Spring 2024. Since starting at UCSC online due to COVID, Jennifer has made an effort to be involved with internships, and has specifically been focusing on restoration and California coastal prairie ecosystems. Fundamental experiences that have brought Jennifer to formulating a senior thesis involve taking opportunities to collaborate, engage, and have any part in the research process. During Jennifer’s time at UCSC, the opportunity arose to be a part of the Building Belongings program and gain research experience for conducting a restoration focused project alongside a Dr. Holl lab peer. Following this program, Jenifer participated in GEOpaths summer internship with the nonprofit Sustainable Systems Research Foundation working with local farmers to promote sustainable farming practices and workshops.
Spatial and temporal variability of soil carbon storage after California coastal prairie restoration
Lands that have historically been used for agriculture and are now fallow could help support carbon mitigation. Rising carbon emissions are a growing threat to our communities, and as a result, it is urgent to find ways to mitigate and sequester carbon. The project objectives are to assess the carbon sequestration potential in California coastal prairie and the role of restoration in the recovery of carbon stocks to support nature-based climate solutions. This project will be conducted at Younger Lagoon Reserve, utilizing both restored and unrestored prairie. Jennifer will sample soils and vegetation composition in restored prairie ranging from 4 to 13 years since restoration. Jennifer will separate soil samples into mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM) and particulate organic matter (POM), which are key in understanding carbon cycling and sequestration potential. This data will allow Jennifer to evaluate whether restoring coastal prairie increases carbon storage and how long that will take.
