Date of Graduation

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences

Advisor/Mentor

Kristofor Brye

Committee Member

David Miller

Second Committee Member

Kelsey Greub

Abstract

Tallgrass prairie ecosystems provide many crucial ecosystem services, including nutrient cycling and storage, organism habitat, and soil and water conservation. However, tallgrass prairies are considered an endangered ecosystem, particularly in the Ozark Highlands and Grand Prairie regions of Arkansas, where less than 0.05% of Arkansas’ original prairie land area remains. Understanding soil nutrient supplies over time in native tallgrass prairie ecosystems is critical for quantifying the success of restoration and rehabilitation activities. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of soil moisture regime (SMR) (i.e., aquic and udic), region (i.e., Ozark Highlands and Grand Prairie), and their interaction on the change in soil nutrient contents (i.e., P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Na, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu) in the top 10 cm of the soil over 15 years (i.e., 2001/2002 to 2016/2017). Soil samples were collected across 10 sites, and changes over time were calculated. Averaged across SMR, extractable soil Fe content increased over time in both regions. Averaged across region, both soil extractable P and Na contents were impacted by SMR, where soil P content increased in both SMRs over time and soil Na content did not change over time in the aquic, but decreased over time in the udic SMR. Soil Mn content increased over time across all region-SMR combinations, except for the Ozarks-Udic combination, which did not change over time. Soil Cu content decreased in all region-SMR combinations, except for the Ozarks-Aquic combination, which did not change over time. This study demonstrated the value of long-term, direct measurements in understanding soil nutrient dynamics and developing restoration guidelines for native tallgrass prairie soils.

Keywords

tallgrass prairie, soil nutrient content, Ozark Highlands, Grand Prairie, soil moisture regime

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