| NSF Org: |
OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | June 21, 2021 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 21, 2021 |
| Award Number: | 2113432 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Colleen Strawhacker
colstraw@nsf.gov (703)292-7432 OPP Office of Polar Programs (OPP) GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | June 15, 2021 |
| End Date: | December 31, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $34,895.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $34,895.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
500 W UNIVERSITY AVE EL PASO TX US 79968-8900 (915)747-5680 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
500 W University Ave El Paso TX US 79968-0001 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | ARCSS-Arctic System Science |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.078 |
ABSTRACT
Arctic tundra covers approximately 6% of the earth's land surface yet stores 25% of the world?s soil carbon. As the climate warms, this stored carbon is released to the atmosphere, further enhancing climate warming; properly modeling this feedback requires information on what controls the carbon cycle in Arctic soils. To date, most studies of the Arctic carbon cycle have neglected the possible roles played by Arctic animals in controlling soil biogeochemical cycles. One important way that animals may affect these cycles is by building structures such as burrows, trails, latrines, and nests, each of which disturbs the soil and alters its biogeochemistry. In addition, because the effects of each species? structures may be different, changes in the population distribution of animal species as the climate warms may lead to changes in Arctic soil cycles. This project is combining these two factors ? herbivore structures and community change ? and examining how changes in either may affect carbon and nutrient cycling in Arctic ecosystems. This research is expanding our understanding of Arctic systems and can be used to improve predictions of how the Arctic may respond to environmental change. This project includes mentorships of K-12 and college-aged students, public outreach in arctic communities, and dissemination of science to the public.
Arctic herbivores, including small mammals, impact environmental processes that feedback on ecosystem function. While most research has focused on effects through herbivory, small mammals may also act as ecosystem engineers, modifying the biophysical environment around them. This project is examining how, and through what mechanisms, small mammal structures influence nutrient availability and microbial activity. The researchers are also evaluating how differences in the functional roles and abundances of two competitor small mammal species (brown and collared lemmings) may alter soil biogeochemical cycling. Near Utqia?vik, Alaska, researchers are sampling soils from beneath four types of small mammal structures (runways, winter nests, latrines, and burrows) from each species to examine their impacts on soil biogeochemical responses. Using the proportional cover of each activity type on the landscape and their relative impacts on biogeochemical cycling, the data are then used to model the impacts of each species during the peak of their population cycle. This research is incorporating herbivores into the greater understanding of Arctic ecosystem function and is being used to improve a pre-existing ecosystem model to better predict carbon cycling in the Arctic.
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
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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 Arctic biome is changing rapidly with consequences for global carbon cycling. Accurate knowledge of the drivers of arctic biogeochemical cycling is needed to better predict arctic carbon cycling in the future. However, a lack of understanding of the important roles of arctic herbivores and the effects of changes in herbivore distributions on biogeochemical cycling limits the ability of scientists to understand the future of arctic ecosystem function. Our research aimed to fill gaps in in knowledge about arctic herbivores, uniquely examining how the dominant mammalian herbivores (brown lemmings) near Utqaiġvik, Alaska influence soil biogeochemical cycling as ecosystem engineers, modifying the biophysical environment around them, and how changes in lemming structures may influence the ecosystem if lemming distributions shift into new habitat types.
We found that brown lemming structures tended to increase soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations, effects that may potentially feed back to affect primary productivity and decomposition in the Arctic. We also found that the effects of brown lemming structures should be relatively similar between habitat types if lemmings alter their distributions; however, structures may increase soil carbon and phosphorus more so in new habitat types compared to their traditional habitats. These findings suggest that changes in lemming distributions due to climate change are likely to have important impacts on tundra biogeochemical cycling and ecosystem function. The data provided by this project can be used to inform models to better predict the effects of climate change on tundra ecosystems and carbon cycling.
Our research helps to achieve research needs called for by the scientific community, the general public, and outlined in the IARPC Arctic Research Plan. Our research findings have been, and will be continued to be, disseminated to the scientific community and general public through publications, talks, and community outreach. To date, this project has produced 1) one completed PhD dissertation, 2) one published manuscript (Functional Ecology), with an additional manuscript in prep, 3) one poster presentation (ESA Annual Meeting), 4) one podcast, and 5) a dataset which will be archived at the Arctic Data Center. In addition to our research products, our project has provided educational and professional development opportunities for K-12 students (public outreach events), an undergraduate Plant Ecology course (course curricula), two undergraduate students (scientific and professional development), and four graduate students (scientific and professional development) across a variety of diverse backgrounds.
Last Modified: 02/21/2023
Modified by: Jennie R Mclaren
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