New Mexico State University researchers are anxious to learn and publicize the unique relationships between the organisms in the ground and how they work with the ecosystem above ground. With a $240,000 grant from the National Park Service, researchers in the fields of microbial ecology, molecular biology, nematology and soil sciences hope to bring to light this understudied area of science. The majority of research is being conducted at the White Sands National Monument and the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Researchers involved include Mary Lucero, a molecular biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Jornada Experimental Range, and Curtis Monger, a professor in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at NMSU.

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This is a microscopic image of carbonate needles made by fungus. New Mexico State University researchers are using a $240,000 grant to study the belowground ecosystem as well as carbon sequestration.