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At least 1,207 records · Page 67

Response of Silicon-Based Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometers: Implication for Radiation Risk Assessment in Space Flights

There is considerable interest in developing silicon-based telescopes because of their compactness and low power requirements. Three such telescopes have been flown on board the Space Shuttle to measure the linear energy transfer spectra of trapped, galactic cosmic ray, and solar energetic particles. Dosimeters based on single silicon detectors have also been flown on the Mir orbital station. A comparison of the absorbed dose and radiation quality factors calculated from these telescopes with that estimated from measurements made with a tissue equivalent proportional counter show differences which need to be fully understood if these telescopes are to be used for astronaut radiation risk assessments. Instrument performance is complicated by a variety of factors. A Monte Carlo-based technique was developed to model the behavior of both single element detectors in a proton beam, and the performance of a two-element, wide-angle telescope, in the trapped belt proton field inside the Space Shuttle. The technique is based on: (1) radiation transport intranuclear-evaporation model that takes into account the charge and angular distribution of target fragments, (2) Landau-Vavilov distribution of energy deposition allowing for electron escape, (3) true detector geometry of the telescope, (4) coincidence and discriminator settings, (5) spacecraft shielding geometry, and (6) the external space radiation environment, including albedo protons. The value of such detailed modeling and its implications in astronaut risk assessment is addressed. c2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

manned↗

Shielding Considerations for CubeSat Structures During Solar Maximum

The purpose of this lessons learned is to communicate the utility of shielding in small spacecraft planning for the support of mission assurance and reliability. Numerous SmallSats have been flying in polar low earth orbit for scientific, communications, technology demonstrations, and imaging with academic, commercial, and government interests. Shielding has been part of mission assurance and reliability from the advent of long duration spacecraft missions. The Shields-1 CubeSat has been operating in polar low earth orbit since 16 December 2018 with atomic number (Z)-grade radiation shielding and demonstrates shielding effectiveness. Shields-1 has collected a representative example of solar minimum data in 2019 with 8 Teledyne dosimeters over varying shielding effectiveness. It serves as current experimental data and has been compared with NOVICE Shielding estimates using the AP8 –AE8 trapped radiation model with the Shields-1 CAD and generic CubeSat 3 unit (U) models. Using NOVICE model radiation analysis coding, the shielding effectiveness's, based on a generic CubeSat 3U structure with 4 electronic boards, were estimated for aluminum wall thicknesses ranging from 0.204 cmto4.44 cm (0.550 g/cm2–12.0 g/cm2) thick aluminum. For modeled polar orbiting spacecraft, solar maximum total ionizing dose (TID)increases by nearly a magnitude for thin-walled aluminum 0.550g/cm2-0.686 g/cm2(0.204 cm –0.254 cm) typical CubeSat structures. The shielding effectiveness by NOVICE Sigma estimates, which is a shielding sphere approximation around a detector, showed a linear relationship with wall thickness, which increased over the wall thickness by a ratio of 1.43 determined by linear regression analysis. Using NOVICE Adjoint Monte-Carlo Modeling of solar minimum and solar maximum with the inclusion of a worst-case solar particle event over a one year mission without geomagnetic shielding, the TID for minimum and maximum conditions for a generic 3U with a wall thickness of 0.254 cm is 158 RAD and 1540 RAD, respectively. The modeled total solar maximum TID is over estimated, because at low orbital latitudes a spacecraft will have shielding from Earth's magnetic field. However, TID will still be significant at high latitudes over the poles, where a spacecraft is exposed in a solar particle event. In contrast, to a thin walled generic 3U CubeSat, Shields-1 electronics enclosure has a shielding effectiveness of 21.3 g/cm2from NOVICE Sigma modeling and is expected to show reduced total ionizing dose increases during the present active Solar Cycle 25 period. Because solar particle events during solar maximum increase TID on electronic parts with thin-walled shielding in short periods of time, it is a mission assurance and reliability consideration on the spacecraft’s mission value versus adding shielding for risk reduction of premature spacecraft or instrument payload loss. Since the volumes of many instruments and system electronics have reduced with small spacecraft, shielding material costs and weight penalties have diminished. A small spacecraft project budget and schedule may limit traditional radiation-hardened part use and radiation testing requirements, where shielding can contribute to mission assurance and reliability with reduced costs.

Shields-1↗

Proton calibration of low energy neutron detectors containing (6)LiF

The purpose of the present calibrations is to measure the proton response of the detectors with accelerated beams having energies within the region of maximum intensities in the trapped proton spectrum encountered in near-Earth orbit. This response is compared with the responses of the spaceflight detectors when related to proton exposures. All of the spaceflight neutron measurements have been accompanied by TLD absorbed doses measurements in close proximity within the spacecraft. For purposes of comparison, the spaceflight TLD doses are assumed to be proton doses.

Benton, E. V.↗

New concept of radiolytic synthesis of gold nanoparticles in continuous flow

Radiolytic synthesis has been used to produce a plethora of unsupported and supported metallic nanoparticles in batch. As proof of a new concept, we evaluated the formation of gold nanoparticles by radiolytic synthesis in continuous flow using a millifluidic reactor. A mixture of gold ions solution, branched polyethyleneimine, and ethylene glycol yielded gold nanoparticles with a mean size of 3.4 ± 1.0 nm after irradiation with an X-ray irradiator (127 Gy/min) at an absorbed dose of 5.1 kGy. The morphology and size distribution of gold nanoparticles was influenced by AgNO 3 , where its absence resulted in a mean size of 20.9 ± 15.8 nm. The radiolytic synthesis of gold nanoparticles in continuous flow was achieved in short reaction times (<60 min), at room temperature, and with low concentrations of both stabilizing and reducing agents. Furthermore, these results demonstrate the potential of radiolytic synthesis in continuous flow for high-throughput formation of metallic nanoparticles with controlled specifications in size and distribution.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Optical and electrical properties of proton-implanted p -GaSb for electrical isolation

The effect of proton implantation as isolation implant and subsequent annealing on the optical absorption and electrical resistivity of low-bandgap p -GaSb is reported. The measured transmittance spectra indicates that implantation creates a distribution of energy levels extending into the bandgap. Electrical measurements show that the average sheet resistance of the implanted layer increases only by an order of magnitude from its pre-implantation value at a proton dose of ~10 13 cm -2 followed by 200 °C annealing. It is also shown that annealing reduces the implantation-induced optical absorption while still retaining a high electrical resistivity.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Degradation of Biochemical Activity in Soil Sterilized by Dry Heat and Gamma Radiation

The effect of soil sterilization by dry heat (0.08% relative humidity), gamma radiation, or both on soil phosphatase, urease, and decarboxylase activity was studied. Soil sterilized by a long exposure to dry heat at relatively low temperatures (eight weeks at 100.5 C) retained higher activities than did soil exposed to a higher temperature (two weeks at 124.5 C), while all activity was destroyed by four days at 148.5 C. Sterilization with 7.5 Mrads destroyed less activity than did heat sterilization. The effect of several individually nonsterizing doses of heat radiation is described.

Shih, K. L.↗

Investigation Into Radiation-Induced Compaction of Zerodur (trademark)

Zerodur is a low coefficient of thermal expansion glass-ceramic material. This property makes Zerodur an excellent material for high precision optical substrates. Functioning as a high precision optical substrate, a material must be dimensionally stable in the system operating environment. Published data indicate that Zerodur is dimensionally unstable when exposed to large doses of ionizing radiation. The dimensional instability is discussed as an increase in Zerodur density. This increase in density is described as a compaction. Experimental data showing proton-induced compaction of Zerodur is presented. The dependence of compaction on proton dose was determined to be a power law relationship.

Edwards, D. L.↗

The hypertension of autonomic failure and its treatment

We studied the incidence and severity of supine hypertension in 117 patients with severe primary autonomic failure presenting to a referral center over a 9-year period. Patients were uniformly characterized by disabling orthostatic hypotension, lack of compensatory heart rate increase, abnormal autonomic function tests, and unresponsive plasma norepinephrine. Fifty-four patients had isolated autonomic impairment (pure autonomic failure). Sixty-three patients had central nervous system involvement in addition to autonomic impairment (multiple-system atrophy). Patients were studied off medications, in a metabolic ward, and on a controlled diet containing 150 mEq of sodium. Fifty-six percent of patients had supine diastolic blood pressure > or =90 mm Hg. The prevalence of hypertension was slightly greater in females (63%) than in males (52%). Potential mechanisms responsible for this hypertension were investigated. No correlation was found between blood volume and blood pressure. Similarly, plasma norepinephrine (92+/-15 pg/mL) and plasma renin activity (0.3+/-0.05 ng/mL per hour) were very low in the subset of patients with pure autonomic failure and supine hypertension (mean systolic/diastolic pressure, 177 +/- 6/108 +/- 2 mm Hg, range 167/97 to 219/121). Supine hypertension represents a challenge in the treatment of orthostatic hypotension. We found these patients to be particularly responsive to the hypotensive effects of transdermal nitroglycerin. Doses ranging from 0.025 to 0.1 mg/h decreased systolic blood pressure by 36+/-7 mm Hg and may effectively treat supine hypertension overnight, but the dose should be individualized and used with caution.

NASA Discipline Regulatory Physiology↗

Using Space Weather Variability in Evaluating the Radiation Environment Design Specifications for NASA's Constellation Program

NASA's Constellation program, initiated to fulfill the Vision for Space Exploration, will create a new generation of vehicles for servicing low Earth orbit, the Moon, and beyond. Space radiation specifications for space system hardware are necessarily conservative to assure system robustness for a wide range of space environments. Spectral models of solar particle events and trapped radiation belt environments are used to develop the design requirements for estimating total ionizing radiation dose, displacement damage, and single event effects for Constellation hardware. We first describe the rationale using the spectra chosen to establish the total dose and single event design environmental specifications for Constellation systems. We then compare variability of the space environment to the spectral design models to evaluate their applicability as conservative design environments and potential vulnerabilities to extreme space weather events

Coffey, Victoria N.↗

A Radiation Hardened by Design CMOS ASIC for Thermopile Readouts

A radiation hardened by design (RHBD) mixed-signal application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) has been designed for a thermopile readout for operation in the harsh Jovian orbital environment. The multi-channel digitizer (MCD) ASIC includes 18 low noise amplifier channels which have tunable gain/filtering coefficients, a 16-bit sigma-delta analog-digital converter (SDADC) and an on-chip controller. The 18 channels, SDADC and controller were designed to operate with immunity to single event latchup (SEL) and to at least 10 Mrad total ionizing dose (TID). The ASIC also contains a radiation tolerant 16-bit 20 MHz Nyquist ADC for general purpose instrumentation digitizer needs. The ASIC is currently undergoing fabrication in a commercial 180 nm CMOS process. Although this ASIC was designed specifically for the harsh radiation environment of the NASA led JEO mission it is suitable for integration into instrumentation payloads 011 the ESA JUICE mission where the radiation hardness requirements are slightly less stringent.

Quilligan, G.↗

Shielding Considerations for CubeSat Structures During Solar Maximum

The purpose of this lessons learned paper is to communicate the utility of shielding in small spacecraft planning for the support of mission assurance and reliability. Numerous SmallSats have been flying in polar low Earth orbit for science, communications, technology demonstrations, and imaging with academic, commercial, and government interests. Shielding has been part of mission assurance and reliability from the advent of long duration spacecraft missions. The Shields-1 CubeSat has been operating in polar low Earth orbit since 16 December 2018 with atomic number (Z)-grade radiation shielding and demonstrates shielding effectiveness. Shields-1 has collected a representative example of solar minimum data in 2019 with eight Teledyne µDosimeters over varying shielding effectivenesses. It serves as current experimental data and has been compared with NOVICE Shielding estimates using the AP8 – AE8 trapped radiation model with the Shields-1 CAD and generic CubeSat three unit (3U) models. Using NOVICE model radiation analysis coding, the shielding effectivenesses, based on a generic CubeSat 3U structure with four electronic boards, were estimated for aluminum wall thicknesses ranging from 0.204 cm to 4.44 cm (0.550 g/cm 2 to 12.0 g/cm 2 ). For modeled polar orbiting spacecraft, solar maximum total ionizing dose (TID) increases by nearly a magnitude for thin-walled aluminum 0.550-g/cm 2 - 0.686-g/cm 2 (0.204-cm – 0.254-cm) typical CubeSat structures. The shielding effectiveness estimated by NOVICE Sigma, which is a shielding sphere approximation around a detector, showed a linear relationship with wall thickness, which increased over the wall thickness by a ratio of 1.43 determined by linear regression analysis. Using NOVICE Adjoint Monte-Carlo Modeling of solar minimum and solar maximum with the inclusion of a worst-case solar particle event over a one-year mission without geomagnetic shielding, the TID for minimum and maximum conditions for a generic 3U with a wall thickness of 0.254 cm is 158 RAD and 1540 RAD, respectively. The modeled total solar maximum TID is over estimated, because at low orbital latitudes a spacecraft will have shielding from the Earth’s magnetic field. However, TID will still be significant at high latitudes over the poles, where a spacecraft is exposed in a solar particle event. In contrast to a thin-walled generic 3U CubeSat, the Shields-1 electronics enclosure has a shielding effectiveness of 21.3 g/cm 2 from NOVICE Sigma modeling and is expected to show reduced total ionizing dose increases during the present active Solar Cycle 25 period. Because solar particle events during solar maximum increase TID on electronic parts with thin-walled shielding in short periods of time, it is a mission assurance and reliability consideration on the mission value of the spacecraft versus adding shielding for risk reduction of premature spacecraft or instrument payload loss. Since the volumes of many instruments and system electronics have reduced with small spacecraft, shielding material costs and weight penalties have diminished. A small spacecraft project budget and schedule may limit traditional radiation-hardened part use and radiation testing requirements, where shielding can contribute to mission assurance and reliability with reduced costs.

Shields-1↗

Chronic Lunar Dust Exposure on Rat Cornea: Evaluation by Gene Expression Profiling

Lunar dust is capable of entering habitats and vehicle compartments by sticking to spacesuits or other objects that are transferred into the spacecraft from the lunar surface and has been reported to cause irritation upon exposure. During the Apollo missions, crewmembers reported irritation specifically to the skin and eyes after contamination of the lunar and service modules. It has since been hypothesized that ocular irritation and abrasion might occur as a result of such exposure, impairing crew vision. Recent work has shown that both ultrafine and unground lunar dust exhibited minimal irritancy of the ocular surface (i.e., cornea); however, the assessment of the severity of ocular damage resulting from contact of lunar dust particles to the cornea has focused only on macroscopic signs of mechanical irritancy and cytotoxicity. Given the chemical reactive properties of lunar dust, exposure of the cornea may contribute to detrimental effects at the molecular level including but not limited to oxidative damage. Additionally, low level chronic exposures may confound any results obtained in previous acute studies. We report here preliminary results from a tissue sharing effort using 10‐week‐old Fischer 344 male rats chronically exposed to filtered air or jet milled lunar dust collected during Apollo 14 using a Jaeger‐NYU nose‐only chamber for a total of 120 hours (6 hours daily, 5 days a week) over a 4‐week period. RNA was isolated from corneas collected from rats at 1 day and 7 days after being exposed to concentrations of 0, 20, and 60 mg/m3 of lunar dust. Microarray analysis was performed using the Affymetrix GeneChip Rat Genome 230 2.0 Array with Affymetrix Expression Console and Transcriptome Analysis Console used for normalization and secondary analysis. An Ingenuity iReport"TM" was then generated for canonical pathway identification. The number of differentially expressed genes identified increases with dose compared to controls suggesting a more severe response to the lunar dust insult at higher levels. Pathways of interests that have been identified in all exposed samples include oxidative stress response, mitochondrial dysfunction, fibrosis, epithelial healing, TGF-Beta signaling, and extracellular matrix remodeling. Several biological processes related to cell migration, cellular proliferation, and eye development were also identified to be altered by exposure to lunar dust. Our preliminary results suggest that even a chronic insult of lunar dust as low as 20 mg/m(exp 3) elicits a molecular response in cornea tissue. Lunar dust on the surface of the moon would have the added properties of ionization and activation potentially leading to further damage to the cornea and greater sensitivity to any other environmental insult such as exposure to radiation. Additional studies are required to fully assess the risk of vision impairment and the mechanistic responses initiated in cornea exposed to lunar dust as well as the potential for long‐term effects to astronaut health

Theriot, C. A.↗

Preliminary analysis of the implications of natural radiations on geostationary operations

The natural radiations present at geostationary orbit are discussed. Low-level galactic cosmic rays are important for careers spending a year or more at geostationary altitude. Trapped radiation will on occasion require interruption of extravehicular activity (EVA). The spacesuit shield requirements are strongly affected by the number of interruptions allowed. EVA cannot proceed during a large solar event and maximum allowable doses are exceeded in a few hours unless a heavily shielded area is provided. A shelter of 10 g/sq cm with personal shielding for the eyes and testes would contain exposure to within the presently accepted exposure constraints. Since radiation levels can increase unexpectedly to serious levels, an onboard radiation monitoring system with rate and integration capabilities is required for both surface-dose and depth-dose monitoring.

Wilson, J. W.↗

A preliminary area survey of neutron radiation levels associated with the NASA variable energy cyclotron horizontal neutron delivery system

The 25 MeV deuteron beam from the NASA variable energy cyclotron incident on a thick beryllium target will deliver a tissue neutron dose rate of 2.14 rad micron A-min at a source to skin distance of 125 cm. A neutron survey of the existing hallways with various shielding configurations made during operating of the horizontal neutron delivery system indicates that minimal amounts of additional neutron shielding material are required to provide a low level radiation environment within a self-contained neutron therapy control station. Measurements also indicate that the primary neutron distribution delivered by a planned vertical delivery system will be minimally perturbed by neutrons backscattered from the floor.

Roberts, W. K.↗

Use of the Manuela 3D/Radiation Scanning Tool at Nuclear Facilities - 20437

Licensees, facility operators and decommissioning contractors have a need for comprehensive, accurate and precise radiological and topographical data to plan and execute safe and efficient Decontamination and Decommissioning (D and D) projects. Traditional approaches rely greatly upon labor and administratively intensive data collection methods that require considerable time and effort to glean the relevant data to plan and perform work in a radiological work area. Orano Decommissioning Services has developed and utilized at French nuclear facilities a lightweight portable scanning instrument called MANUELA (Mobile Apparatus for Nuclear Expertise Localization Assistance). Recently Orano conducted demonstrations at two United States nuclear facilities using MANUELA that may prove useful in areas of the fuel cycle including: - ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) planning during facility operations; - Scoping and site characterization during the D and D planning phase; - Remedial action support during active decommissioning work; - Radiation and modeling planning for plant modifications; - Support Final Status Survey and demonstration of 'end state' compliance for license termination. MANUELA is currently being evaluated for use during decommissioning of nuclear facilities and could aide in demonstrating compliance with end state criteria after decommissioning. Of particular interest are decommissioning projects planned for various sites across the United States. Most of these sites present unique challenges and opportunities to safely and efficiently decommission in a regulatory compliant manner. The two demonstration site's current conditions of relatively low radiation levels inside containment proved to be ideal platforms to deploy the MANUELA instrument for evaluation of the complex geometries typically found in a nuclear facility. The MANUELA instrument was able to precisely identify local hot spots of the reactor system's primary equipment and was able to simultaneously overlay the dose information onto the scanned 3D images. Using data like this, a licensee would be able to make informed technical and personnel decisions on methods to remediate, shield or properly dispose of the radioactive source term. MANUELA can be used throughout the decommissioning process to validate progress and continue to refine the work activities to optimize the efforts of the crew which reduces downtime waiting for survey results, whereas traditional survey methodology relies on a physical survey to be performed and the data transcribed onto survey maps that are only two dimensional. The traditional format tends to be inaccurate and difficult to interpret the precise location(s) of hot spots or generalized dose rates. The resultant scan also allows the user to know the exact extent of the survey versus transposing information onto a map with only a portion of the map area scanned. MANUELA also compiles all of the relevant survey data into a downloadable table format which includes the measurement identification number, time stamp, point space location on the XYZ plane, and the dose rate value. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

RadLab: A Comprehensive Database and Graphical and Programming Interfaces for Space Radiation Data

RadLab, a component of the NASA Open Science Data Repository (OSDR), is a database of radiation measurements from multiple instruments and spacecraft that provides visual and programmatic interfaces for interrogation and retrieval of these data. The attributes of data available through RadLab include spacecraft, types of radiation sensing instruments, locations within the spacecraft (e.g. ISS modules), associated celestial bodies, trajectories, and spacecraft coordinates; the primary type of data is the absorbed dose rate, as well as flux and dose equivalent rate where available. The application programming interface (API) implements a request syntax for retrieval of timestamped data filtered by various combinations of such attributes; the graphical user interface (GUI) extends this functionality with visualizations (time series plots, comparison plots, geospatial visualizations) which provide easy means to assess data availability, iteratively refine search parameters, interactively inspect the data, and export target data subsets. Datasets are continuously being added to the RadLab database as part of the rolling release process. Investigators from multiple countries, including the US, Canada, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Russia and the Czech Republic, have committed to provide data from their instruments in and beyond low Earth orbit. The current release contains datasets provided by US and international collaborators and includes readings from multiple modules of the ISS, the BioSentinel CubeSat, Chang’e 4, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the ExoMars Orbiter, and the Curiosity rover. Datasets are associated with respective RadLab knowledgebase articles which include instrument descriptions and provide bibliographical references. RadLab aims to provide a comprehensive, dynamic compendium of space radiation data, enabling the scientific community to perform analyses of data from multiple detectors and to determine the radiation environment of research missions and experiments. Some of its applications include inference of absorbed radiation dose for NASA GeneLab payloads, and training predictive models as part of the 2024 FDL-X challenge. The platform is actively expanding and seeking additional data, with plans to also cover past (e.g. Shuttle, Mir) and future (e.g. Artemis) missions. The RadLab Working Group has been created to aid in this process as well as to foster collaborations among data contributors and users, to develop standards for data harmonization, and to guide the development of the platform, with the goal to establish the use of RadLab in space radiation research and to advance our understanding of the radiation environment in outer space.

Kirill Grigorev↗

RadLab: A Comprehensive Database and Graphical and Programming Interfaces for Space Radiation Data

RadLab, a component of the NASA Open Science Data Repository (OSDR), is a database of radiation measurements from multiple instruments and spacecraft that provides visual and programmatic interfaces for interrogation and retrieval of these data. The attributes of data available through RadLab include spacecraft, types of radiation sensing instruments, locations within the spacecraft (e.g. ISS modules), associated celestial bodies, trajectories, and spacecraft coordinates; the primary type of data is the absorbed dose rate, as well as flux and dose equivalent rate where available. The application programming interface (API) implements a request syntax for retrieval of timestamped data filtered by various combinations of such attributes; the graphical user interface (GUI) extends this functionality with visualizations (time series plots, comparison plots, geospatial visualizations) which provide easy means to assess data availability, iteratively refine search parameters, interactively inspect the data, and export target data subsets. Datasets are continuously being added to the RadLab database as part of the rolling release process. Investigators from multiple countries, including the US, Canada, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Russia and the Czech Republic, have committed to provide data from their instruments in and beyond low Earth orbit. The current release contains datasets provided by US and international collaborators and includes readings from multiple modules of the ISS, the BioSentinel CubeSat, Chang’e 4, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the ExoMars Orbiter, and the Curiosity rover. Datasets are associated with respective RadLab knowledgebase articles which include instrument descriptions and provide bibliographical references. RadLab aims to provide a comprehensive, dynamic compendium of space radiation data, enabling the scientific community to perform analyses of data from multiple detectors and to determine the radiation environment of research missions and experiments. Some of its applications include inference of absorbed radiation dose for NASA GeneLab payloads, and training predictive models as part of the 2024 FDL-X challenge. The platform is actively expanding and seeking additional data, with plans to also cover past (e.g. Shuttle, Mir) and future (e.g. Artemis) missions. The RadLab Working Group has been created to aid in this process as well as to foster collaborations among data contributors and users, to develop standards for data harmonization, and to guide the development of the platform, with the goal to establish the use of RadLab in space radiation research and to advance our understanding of the radiation environment in outer space.

Kirill Grigorev↗

Nitrogen addition alters the relative importance of roots and mycorrhizal hyphae in regulating soil organic carbon accumulation in a karst forest

Plant belowground carbon (C) inputs from roots and associated mycorrhizal hyphae are increasingly recognized as critical drivers impacting soil organic C (SOC) pool. However, whether roots and mycorrhizal hyphae differentially regulate SOC formation and accumulation under elevated nitrogen (N) deposition remains to be addressed. Using an ingrowth-core technique, the relative contributions of roots and mycorrhizal hyphae to SOC accumulation were distinguished and quantified in a karst forest receiving three levels of N additions (control (0 kg N ha -1 yr -1 ), low N (150 kg N ha -1 yr -1 ) and high N (300 kg N ha -1 yr -1 )). Here our results showed that N addition stimulated SOC accumulation (indicated by the increase of both bulk SOC and mineral associated organic C fraction) influenced by both roots and hyphae, especially for higher N doses. Moreover, N addition increased the contribution of the root effect relative to the hyphal effect in the SOC accrual. The correlation analysis showed that, for the hyphal effect, the change in SOC content was solely and positively correlated with the change in protective mineral phases of SOC, but not with the microbial necromass. In contrast, for the root effect, the change in SOC content was significantly and positively correlated with the changes in both soil microbial C pump efficacy and protective mineral phases of SOC. These results suggest that roots and mycorrhizal hyphae may influence the accumulation of microbial necromass and the formation of mineral-organic associations in a different magnitude under enhanced N supply. These findings advance our understanding of the root-mycorrhizal interactions in mediating SOC dynamics in forests under future N deposition scenarios.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗