John Pardue
Elizabeth Howell Stewart Endowed Professor Louisiana State University
- Baton Rouge LA
Dr. Pardue's research interests focus in groundwater contamination and treatment.
Areas of Expertise
Biography
Research Focus
Environmental Engineering & Water Quality
Dr. Pardue’s research focuses on contaminant fate and transport in coastal and urban waters, emphasizing oil-spill impacts, storm-flood water quality, and wetland restoration along the Gulf Coast. He pairs marsh and stormwater field sampling with bench-scale biogeochemical experiments and remediation modeling to guide spill response, habitat recovery, and public-health protection.
Education
Louisiana State University
Ph.D.
Civil Engineering)
1992
Louisiana State University
M.S.
Marine Sciences
1987
Rhodes College
B.S.
Biology
1983
Media Appearances
Mornings with Brian Haldane: John Pardue
Talk 107.3 Baton Rouge radio
2022-10-06
John Pardue joins us to put the whole storing carbon under a lake thing in layman’s terms.
A lot of questions about carbon storage under Lake Maurepas have come up, and John Pardue is doing his best to give us fact-based answers, instead of a political one.
He tells us about the dangers that can arise from carbon storage underwater, the benefits, and the process.
Articles
Implementation of Multi-level Interventions to Mitigate Risk of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant at a PUBLIC UNIVERSITY in Southern United States
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness2023
Decay of oil residues in the soil is enhanced by the presence of Spartina alterniflora, with no additional effect from microbiome manipulation
Frontiers in Soil Science2022
Recent work has suggested that the phytoremediation potential of S. alterniflora may be linked to a selection by the plant for oil-degrading microbial communities in the soil, in combination with enhanced delivery of oxygen and plant enzymes to the soil. In salt marshes, where the soil is saline and hypoxic, this relationship may be enhanced as plants in extreme environments have been found to be especially dependent on their microbiome for resilience to stress and to respond to toxins in the soil. Optimizing methods for restoration of oiled salt marshes would be especially meaningful in the Gulf of Mexico, where there is a persistently high threat of petroleum contamination. One favorable strategy for restoration of oiled sites might include planting S. alterniflora with a microbiome that has been pre-selected for an oiled environment. We examined this strategy with a two-year greenhouse experiment and found that planting S. alterniflora in an oiled environment enhances decomposition of oil residues without a clear negative impact on plant growth.
Spatial and temporal comparisons of salt marsh soil fungal communities following the deepwater horizon spill
Wetlands Ecology and Management2022
The unprecedented size of the deepwater horizon oil spill and scope of the subsequent response elicited intense and sustained interest in microbial responses to oiling, especially in salt marshes, which have featured prominently in debates about best practices to prevent and remediate oiling of vulnerable ecosystems. A number of studies have examined salt marsh soil microbial communities following the spill, but most have primarily concentrated on prokaryotes. The extent to which oiling elicited shifts in fungal diversity and community composition remains unclear. Here we present spatial and temporal comparisons of salt marsh soil fungal communities at two southern Louisiana salt marshes with contrasting oiling histories.
Alterations of endophytic microbial community function in Spartina alterniflora as a result of crude oil exposure
Biodegradation2022
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster remains one of the largest oil spills in history. This event caused significant damage to coastal ecosystems, the full extent of which has yet to be fully determined. Crude oil contains toxic heavy metals and substances such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that are detrimental to some microbial species and may be used as food and energy resources by others. As a result, oil spills have the potential to cause significant shifts in microbial communities. This study assessed the impact of oil contamination on the function of endophytic microbial communities associated with saltmarsh cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). Soil samples were collected from two locations in coastal Louisiana, USA: one severely affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and one relatively unaffected location.
Intraspecific variation in landform engineering across a restored salt marsh shoreline
Evolutionary Applications2021
Ecosystem engineers that modify landforms can be valuable tools for restoring habitat, but their use has frequently resulted in unanticipated outcomes. Departures from expectations might arise because applications discount the possibility that geomorphic processes are influenced by heritable phenotypic variation. We conducted a field‐scale common garden experiment to assess whether shoreline erosion reflects intraspecific variation in the landform engineer Spartina alterniflora. Replicated plots on a shoreline denuded by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill were revegetated using plants from four genetically distinct sources: the local population, a nonlocal population, and two nursery stocks. We assessed variation in biomass, tissue nutrients, and functional traits alongside soil shear strength, surface elevation, and shoreline erosion rates over 2 years.
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