I am currently completing my master’s in Earth Science with Dr. Sue Ziegler and the Biochemistry of Boreal Ecosystems Research Group (BBERG). My research is focused on investigating composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in warmer and wetter boreal forests. Specifically, I am interested in how the composition of soil DOM varies in response to co-precipitation, adsorption, and desorption that occurs with DOM input through boreal forest mineral soils. Through my research I am contributing to an understanding of how biological and physiochemical processes relate to soil DOM composition. This research should help us gain a better understanding of the fate of mobilized soil DOM in boreal landscapes.
Before coming to Memorial University of Newfoundland, I completed a Bachelor of Science honors degree at the University of Guelph, where I majored in Biochemistry and minored in Mathematics. During my bachelor’s degree I completed a fourth-year thesis project with Dr. Matthew Kimber where I investigated the structure and mechanism of talosyltransferase Rhizobium tropici CIAT899.
I can be contacted at lmbutt@mun.ca
