Makayla Robinson, no. 3 of Pine Plains, dribbles the ball down midfield past Rhinebeck’s Ellie Firestone, no. 13, at a soccer match at Stissing Mountain High School in Pine Plains Wednesday, Sept. 25.
Photo by Nathan Miller
“Use your head,” is particularly good advice in soccer, and Pine Plains senior Madison Spann, no. 7, obviously takes the advice to heart to win the ball from Rhinebeck senior Maddy Santoro, no. 6, in a girls’ soccer match at Stissing Mountain High School Wednesday, Sept. 25. The game ended 6-1 Rhinebeck, marking Stissing Mountain's second loss to the team.Photo by Nathan Miller
Rosa Mejia, no. 2, found the back of the net to make the Bombers’ only goal of the soccer match against Rhinebeck at Stissing Mountain High School in Pine Plains Wendesday, Sept. 25. Rhinebeck won the match 6-1.Photo by Nathan Miller
Latest News
Jane Lucas, who holds a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology, at right in all black, leads an educational hike through the woods at the Cary Institute in Millbrook Sunday, Sept. 29. The group followed Lucas down the trail to Wappingers Creek, where she explained the nitrogen cycle, the phosphorous cycle and the carbon cycle and the important role soil microbes play in each.
Photo by Nathan Miller
MILLBROOK — A crowd of nearly 30 went undeterred by cool rain for a hike and lecture on soil ecology at the Cary Institute Sunday morning, Sept. 29.
Jane Lucas, who holds a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology, led the group on a brief hike in the frigid mist and discussed her research focus: microbial communities.
Lucas said scientists have started to look more closely at soil. In the past, soil science was largely focused on agriculture. The main concern of practitioners and academics were improving yield and reliability of crop harvests and grazing. Now, Lucas said, there is more study on soil’s role in the environment as a whole, and as it’s own environment.
That’s Lucas’s research focus at the Cary Institute. She said soil is host to trillions of microbial critters that are responsible for turning dead leaves and branches into dirt, plus about a million other critical things. “In a spoonful of dirt there are more microbes than people on the planet,” Lucas said to the crowd, sheltered in Cary’s carriage house to escape the drizzle.
Soil microbes are microscopic critters like bacteria, viruses, fungi and algae, and they’re essential in making dirt do what it does best: grow things. They break down organic matter, making nutrients and minerals available in the soil for plants to use.
Soil microbes also bear a lot of responsibility for carbon fixing. When a plant absorbs carbon dioxide from the air it breaks it down and releases oxygen, storing the carbon for use in food. Up to 30% of that carbon is then excreted from the plant’s roots into the soil in substances called exudates, Lucas said. The microscopic critters in the dirt feed on the exudates, locking the carbon in the soil and keeping it out of the atmosphere. The rest of the carbon that’s stored in the plant makes it into the soil when the plant dies and decays.
Microbiomes are diverse and soil conditions have a huge impact on their composition and health. Lucas has been studying the effects of climate change on soil ecology. Experiments at the Cary Institute are testing how elevated soil temperatures, varying pH levels and drought affect microbiome performance. Lucas said microbiome health has huge implications for the health of plants and animals in an environment, and the impacts of climate change have the potential to impact soil ecology negatively.
Lucas made a point to emphasize a holistic view of soil ecology. She gave phosphorous as an example. Phosphorous is a key nutrient to plant health, but most of the phosphorous on Earth is locked in hard rocks below the surface. However, Lucas said, the sands of the Sahara desert contain a lot of stored phosphorous. Winds and currents carry this phosphorous rich sand across the pacific ocean to South America, where it supplies the Amazon rainforest with phosphorous for its lush vegetation. Even when it isn’t traveling thousands of miles across an ocean, dirt is an essential part of our environment, and inextricably linked to to agriculture and public health, Lucas said.
Cary Institute hosts regular lectures hosted by its researching scientists and associates. More information and upcoming events can be found at www.caryinstitute.org/events.
Keep ReadingShow less
STANFORD — August recorded sales in Stanford present a sharp contrast to July when only one property out of five sales closed for less than $500,000. In August there were ten transfers, twice as many as July, and all of them less than $1 million across a range of prices from $400,000 to $937,500 for a 1780 farm house. The striking change in a month is a reminder that monthly results in small markets can swing widely. But what hasn’t changed is the long-term upward momentum in prices. Stanford’s August median price reached a ten year high of $640,000.
In late September of the 23 family homes publicly listed for sale in Stanford only two are listed under $500,000 and ten remain available for over $1 million.
August Transfers
26 Hobbs Lane — 3 bedroom/2 bath house on 5.1 acres sold for $719,000.
1 Creamery Road — 4 bedroom/4 bath house built in 1780 with 4 fireplaces sold for $937,500.
459 Shelley Hill Road — 4 bedroom/2 bath house sold for $507,000.
189 Hunns Lake Road — 4 bedroom/2 bath house sold for $690,000.
134 Hunns Lake Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath house sold for $400,000.
229 Layton Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath house sold for $425,000.
27 Hunns Lake Road — 4 bedroom/2 bath house built in 1899 on .5 acres sold for $687,500.
92 Decker Road — 2 bedroom/1.5 bath house on 26.72 acres sold for $775,000.
6102 Route 82 — 2 bedroom/1.5 bath ranch on 13 acres sold for $450,000.
5-15 Old Depot Way — 3 bedroom/4 bath renovated train station on 2.74 acres sold for $728,500.
* Town of Stanford real estate sales recorded as sold between Aug. 1, 2024 and Aug. 31, 2024 sourced from Dutchess County Real Property Tax Service Agency with property details from Dutchess Parcel Access. Currently listed homes are taken from First Key MLS and may not include all properties available. Only transfers with consideration are included. Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Advisor with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in CT and NY.
Keep ReadingShow less
loading
