Enhance and Protect America's Natural Resources

Preserving Our Resources for Future Generations

Occurrence and Quantification of Human Pharmaceuticals in Surface Water of Rural and Urbanizing Watershed in Middle Tennessee

Characterization of Microbial Community Diversity and Potentials for Enhancing Bioenergy Feedstock Production in Degraded Lands

Experimentally Assessing and Modeling Thermal Variations on the Mineralization of Soil Organic Carbon in Agro-ecosystems

Effects of Antibiotics in Mobilizing Plant Micronutrient, Borate and Molybdate, in the Environment

Quantification of Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) Population Status in Streams of Tennessee

An Approach to Manage and Mitigate Stormwater in Metropolitan Nashville/Davidson County, TN


Occurrence and Quantification of Human Pharmaceuticals in Surface Water of Rural and Urbanizing Watershed in Middle Tennessee
Dr. Sam Dennis
Pharmaceuticals are chemicals of emerging concern in surface water resources. On a national scale, sensitive analytical techniques are being employed to quantify their presence in different environmental matrices, including surface water and wastewater effluents. While the disposal of pharmaceuticals is becoming a complex environmental issue, little is known about the potential health effects to humans or aquatic organisms exposed to trace levels of drug residues found in surface water. Water samples for the pharmaceutical analysis will be collected from three rivers, Stones River in Rutherford County, Collins River in Warren County and Cumberland River in Davidson County in Middle Tennessee. These rivers are considered six, six and seven order rivers respectively, drained by Middle Tennessee sub-watersheds. The overarching goal of the study is to quantify the concentration of non-steroidal pharmaceuticals in surface water including opioids and anti-inflammatory drugs. Our central hypothesis is that the incidence of pharmaceuticals in surface water in urbanizing and rural watersheds exists, partly due to catchment land uses and outfall discharges. Studies of pharmaceuticals in water bodies in Middle Tennessee sub-watersheds are minimal. Therefore, the objectives of the study are: 1) To quantify non-steroidal human pharmaceuticals in surface water, including opioids and anti-inflammatory drugs, using GC/MS/MS or LC/MS/MS technology; 2) To identify the most frequently detected pharmaceuticals in the three streams monitored in the sub-watersheds; 3) Develop possible pathways that pharmaceuticals reach the rivers being monitored, so that future intervention can be taken; 4) To quantify water quality parameters that could affect the concentration of the pharmaceuticals detected in the rivers and 5) Use drug take-back programs as a surrogate for pharmaceutical drugs disposal in Middle Tennessee. A study of this nature will generate new knowledge based on the incidence and quantification of pharmaceuticals in surface water of rural and urbanizing subwatersheds in Middle Tennessee. The findings will be used to improve protection strategies related to incidence of pharmaceuticals in water; thus improve local surface water health.

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Characterization of Microbial Community Diversity and Potentials for Enhancing Bioenergy Feedstock Production in Degraded Lands
Dr. Emmanuel Dzantor
The world is facing multiple challenges of environmental, energy and food securities all exacerbated by climate change. Bioenergy has been promoted as one solution to modulate these challenges. At first sight, the concept of 'growing energy' appeared to be unquestionably appealing; bioenergy production and use can slow down projections of climate change and prospects of massive biomass production for bioenergy could greatly boost agricultural production and revitalize rural economies. However, bioenergy production is limited by available arable land to produce food, feed, fiber as well as bioenergy. It is noteworthy that the feedstocks that are promoted for bioenergy (grain starch, soybeans, canola, and palm oil) are the same crops for food and feed. Not surprisingly, bioenergy quickly sparked often contentious debates over food versus fuel. The US Department of Energy (DOE) anticipated the unsustainability of food-based bioenergy production; accordingly, it had long committed vast amounts of resources to finding non-food crop alternatives for bioenergy production. This investment led to the selection of switchgrass as the model bioenergy feedstock, based on desirable characteristics, including high biomass production, wide geographic distribution and abiotic stress tolerance. However, finding non-food alternatives for bioenergy production is only a partial solution to the food versus fuel dilemma. As some have correctly pointed out even most efficient non-food crop still require land, water nutrients and other inputs that compete with food production. Still, the enthusiasm that waned with recognition about untenable food versus debates is back in the upswing as various land assessments and estimations continue to show that bioenergy biomass can be produced sustainably on marginal, degraded, abandoned as well as contaminated lands without competition with prime agricultural land or ecosystem destruction. According to one study, such problem lands can be used for biofuel feedstock production to meet up to 55% of current world fuel consumption without affecting food and forage production. In other words, bioenergy feedstock can be produced on degraded lands while saving prime agricultural land for food, feed and fiber. Now, the challenges are to find out how to produce biomass sustainably on degraded land and how much biomass can degraded land actually produce? With assistance from the Tennessee Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), the PI has identified sites in Middle Tennessee that can used to demonstrate the concept of enhanced bioenergy biomass production capitalizing on soil amendment with agricultural byproducts, microbial augmentations and long proven cover cropping that incorporate legumes in biomass production systems. It is well established that biomass crops such as switchgrass have the ability to produce considerable amounts of biomass even under less than prime land conditions soils and with minimum inputs. In fact, one of their desirable attributes is their ability improve quality of soils and water while producing biomass. Before implementing such a project in the field, this project proposes to test in greenhouse, the enhancement strategies and/or their combinations that are likely to produce the best results from standpoints of sustainable biomass productivity and environmental protection and enhancement. If the proposed project is successful it will lead to field implementation, with benefits for landowners throughout the region and nation who are currently burdened by unproductive, marginal, degraded, contaminated and abandoned lands that can be brought to profitable productivity. The proposed project seeks to understand soil microbial communities, which are key drivers of functioning of ecosystems including degraded ones. They are responsible for cycling nutrient for plants' uses for primary production and they are critical for plant-mediated ecosystem processes including restoration and rejuvenation of degraded lands and carbon sequestration a major pathway for lessening of ills rising anthropogenic greenhouse gases in the first place. This project proposes to use combinations of characterization techniques to provide greater understanding of SMCs in degraded land and thereby facilitate their beneficial exploitation not only for enhanced biomass productivity for bioenergy but also improve soil and environmental quality and revitalize economies of landowners and growers.   

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Experimentally Assessing and Modeling Thermal Variations on the Mineralization of Soil Organic Carbon in Agro-ecosystems
Dr. Jiamwei Li
Humans are changing Earth's climate. Two major consequences are the increasing global land surface mean temperature, and widespread active nitrogen deposition or nutrient enrichment. These global changes not only affect plant growth (i.e., crop yield) but also the belowground microbial biomes upon which these aboveground plants depend. My research work will help address how global warming and nitrogen fertilizers affect belowground microbial communities and the changes of microbes modify the greenhouse gas emission (i.e., CO2) to atmosphere and the pool size of soil organic matter, which is key for soil health, fertility and ecosystem sustainability.

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Effects of Antibiotics in Mobilizing Plant Micronutrient, Borate and Molybdate, in the Environment
Dr. Sudipta Rakshit
The dangers of antibiotics are not only limited to microbial resistance, but also can influence plant micronutrient mobility in the environment. Here we propose to study the effects of antibiotics sorption on common soil minerals on the chemical fate of boron and molybdenum-two essential micronutrients. Spectroscopic (in situ ATR-FTIR) as well as wet-chemical experiments have been proposed to evaluate this effect. Common antibiotics such as tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, and tylosine will be used. In addition, a surface complexation modeling exercise has also been proposed. The project will result valuable information about the detailed mechanisms of antibiotic surface complexation in the presence of micronutrient B & Mo. Also the data will help understanding the mobility of B & Mo in the presence of antibiotics 

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Quantification of Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) Population Status in Streams of Tennessee
Dr. William Sutton
The overall purpose of this research is to use an emerging technology (Environmental DNA analysis) to evaluate the population status of an endangered aquatic amphibian (the Eastern Hellbender). As these animals are quite rare and difficult to detect in nature, we will evaluate in-stream variation of eDNA at a total of 10 sites in TN. Data produced through this research will be useful for defining potential refuge sites for this species. As the Hellbender is very sensitive to environmental disturbance, areas of high population density, indicate healthy streams that provide clean water for recreation and consumption.

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An Approach to Manage and Mitigate Stormwater in Metropolitan Nashville/Davidson County, TN
 Dr. DeEtra Young
This project seeks to build an integration of research and extension utilizing multiple stakeholders to mitigate and manage stormwater in Davidson County, TN with particular emphasis on bioretention basins. The project will take a multiple-phased approach to examine stormwater quality by examining BMPs, developing hydrological and water quality models for urban forestry and water quality. Findings from our integrated research will build a blueprint for local municipalities to follow.







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