Location: Range Management Research
Project Number: 3050-21600-001-113-N
Project Type: Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Nov 1, 2023
End Date: Oct 31, 2028
Objective:
The objective of this research project is to understand and quantify the key factors and processes controlling ecosystem dynamics, restoration, and climate responses in arid rangeland landscapes.
Approach:
New Mexico State University (NMSU) will conduct short- and long-term studies of vegetation, wild animals, soil microbes, eolian processes, and carbon balance, sediment flux, and hydrology involved in ecosystem state change in response to land management and climate on the Jornada Experimental Range (JER). Funding for this work is provided by the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other NSF support. Data produced will support new simulation models and Earth System models used to forecast agroecosystem change and its effects in drylands. A variety of technologies will be employed, including field experiments, sensor networks, remote sensing, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and monitoring of vegetation, microbes, and soils. The USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range will provide data from long-term studies collected throughout the Jornada Basin, spatial data layers needed for interpretation, and will facilitate NMSU researchers’ access to data and sites on JER. ARS scientists will collaborate with NMSU researchers in fulfilling obligations of LTER grants via their roles as co-PIs and collaborators. Data generated by LTER research will be made openly available to researchers and the public following NSF policy, thereby amplifying the impact of ARS research investments, and providing new data and information serving ARS stakeholders.
