| NSF Org: |
EAR Division Of Earth Sciences |
| Recipient: |
|
| Initial Amendment Date: | June 21, 2019 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 21, 2019 |
| Award Number: | 1911969 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Laura Lautz
llautz@nsf.gov (703)292-7775 EAR Division Of Earth Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | July 1, 2019 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2024 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $147,259.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $147,259.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
|
| History of Investigator: |
|
| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1601 VATTIER STREET MANHATTAN KS US 66506-2504 (785)532-6804 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
| Primary Place of Performance: |
KS US 66506-4901 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
| Parent UEI: |
|
| NSF Program(s): |
Hydrologic Sciences, XC-Crosscutting Activities Pro |
| Primary Program Source: |
|
| Program Reference Code(s): |
|
| Program Element Code(s): |
|
| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
Within grasslands, woody plants are increasing in cover and abundance. The replacement of grasslands by woody plants can change the way water, nutrients, and metals are stored and move through soil. This project studies these changes in grasslands in Kansas. The project links the fields of water science, rock chemistry and soil chemistry. The project connects the way water moves and is stored in the ground to how soil and rock chemically breaks down. Investigating how roots of woody plants altered water flow in the ground is important to understanding how Earth will respond to future changes in climate. This research provides training across different fields of science including geology, biology, and chemistry. Educational materials will be developed for all grade levels including K-12 and college.
The goal of this research is to understand how roots respond to changes in climate and land use, and how roots control the movement of water and nutrients through landscapes. Specifically, this research studies how deeper roots associated with woody plant encroachment enhances transport of water and carbon to greater depths, increases the water residence time in the subsurface, and enhances the potential for weathering at depth. To accomplish this goal, integrated field and modeling approaches will be conducted at the watershed scale. Data will be collected at the Konza Prairie (KS, USA), where long-term burning experiments have resulted in the encroachment of woody vegetation. This research relies on: 1) long-term measures of vegetation cover, stream discharge, water isotopes, and water solute chemistry, and 2) new measurements of the subsurface including root density and distribution, soil structure, soil water potential, soil gas concentrations, and solute chemistry. Collectively, this research links water residence time to fluxes of nutrients. The project partners with the Konza Environmental Education Program to provide educational materials and training on woody plant encroachment into prairies. An online modular toolbox for water quality and quantity is developed for undergraduate and graduate students.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
Note:
When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external
site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a
charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from
this site.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The encroachment of woody plants into grasslands affects the amount of water that is lost to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration and how much water can infiltrate into the ground, recharging groundwater. Changes in water fluxes above- and below-ground can alter how carbon is distributed and moved from between land and streams. In the midwestern USA, the Konza Prairie near Manhattan Kansas has been experiencing woody encroachment for over the last 40 years and has seen a decline in recent decades of stream water flow despite increased precipitation over the past century. Our results show woody encroachment outpaces the rate of evapotranspiration by native grass, particularly on the hillslopes compared to woody plants in the zone directly along the stream. Our data also show that woody plants reduce water availability in the soil at deeper depths but also supports the quicker and deeper infiltration of precipitation via the creation of larger soil pores. Mathematical models using stream flow, long-term weather data, and land cover change show that over time as the amount of woody vegetation increases, the more groundwater makes up the stream flow despite less flow overall. This result is influenced by the underlaying geology (karst limestone), which quickly drains. Finally, analyses of climate data for this region over the past 100 years illustrates changes in precipitation patterns with more annual rainfall, increased variability in event size, and more rainfall occuring in the dormant season (winter) compared to active vegetation growing season (summer). These changes in climate, along with woody encroachment and associated increases in plant water use, have contributed to decreased stream flow and a shift toward increased contribution of winter precipitation to groundwater recharge.
Last Modified: 08/24/2024
Modified by: Jesse B Nippert
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
