Location: Great Basin Rangelands Research
Project Number: 2060-21500-001-010-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: May 15, 2022
End Date: Apr 30, 2027
Objective:
This project aims to train the next generation of scientists to contribute to erosion research on rangelands. The proposed research intends to increase our understanding of: 1) How post-fire wind and water erosion affects ecosystem recovery, 2) How land management actions affect ecosystem recovery, and 3) How these processes vary along climatic and vegetation gradients.
Approach:
We will accomplish this by: 1a) Conducting field experiments to identify and quantify eroded landscapes after wildfire and measure impacts to plant establishment, soil stability, nutrient cycling, air and water quality, 1b) Developing protocols to measure how wind and water erosion interact across soil properties, burn severity, and vegetation conditions, 2) Examining post-fire treatment effects (e.g. return to grazing, stabilization techniques, seeding) on ecosystem recovery by applying treatments and monitoring responses, and 3) Conducting field experiments along climatic and vegetation gradients, as well as use instrumentation that manipulates rainfall and temperature.
Tasks may include, but are not limited to: identification of key research questions, sampling design and research experiment development, sampling method recommendations, implementation of experimental equipment and plots, data collection, weather and soils instrument setup and readout, data analysis, report writing, and dissemination of findings (such as technical reports and journal publications).
