The following is a faculty research project supported by the Upstate Institute:
Catherine Cardelús, Assistant Professor of Biology
Professor Cardelús received funds for “Above and Belowground Responses to Acid Rain Mitigation in Adirondack State Park.” She will work with a team of students to examine the effect of calcium addition on forest nutrient recovery to learn whether “liming” might be a potentially effective mitigation strategy to fight the effects of acid rain in the Adirondack Park. She and her students will collect leaf litter and measure tree growth several times during the coming year at four established test plots near Webb, New York. They hope to learn whether limed plots have more available nitrogen, and whether plants in those plots retain their leaves significantly longer and are therefore more productive.