Soils, surficial geology, and geomicrobiology of saline-sodic wetlands, North Platte River Valley, Nebraska, USA

Saline-sodic wetland soils in the study area change on daily to seasonal scales. Cycles of surface salt development, microbial activity, and microrelief genesis are all controlled by regular wetting-drying cycles and the interaction of ponded surface waters and shallow groundwaters. Relatively unique aspects of microbial ecology and surface processes make the soils important as “geomicrobial reactors” wherein important parts of hydrological and geochemical cycles occur.