# Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Desert Southwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

Source: https://welltoldgrants.com/grants/g21as00315-cooperative-agreement-for-cesu-affiliated-partner-with/  
Official notice: https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/331425

> Geological Survey offered grants of up to $84,000 to the applicants described in the notice. Applications closed on March 3, 2021.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Opportunity number | G21AS00315 |
| Agency | Geological Survey |
| Status | Forecast |
| Deadline | March 3, 2021 |
| Award ceiling | $84,000 |
| Award floor | not stated |
| Expected awards | not stated |
| Total funding | not stated |
| Cost sharing | not required |
| Assistance Listings | 15.808 |

## Who can apply

- Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

This financial assistance opportunity is being issued under a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program. CESU's are partnerships that provide research, technical assistance, and education. Eligible recipients must be a participating partner of the Desert Southwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (DSCESU) Program.

## What the grant funds

U.S. Geological survey is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU Partner for project titled: “Web-based Help for Invasive Species Control (WHISC) - Research and Programming Support”. Buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) is an invasive perennial that threatens the Sonoran desert ecosystems by out-competing native species and altering fire regimes. Current adaptive management actions have concluded that efforts to control buffelgrass must include the targeted application of herbicide, but the herbicide is only effective if applied when the buffelgrass is photosynthetically active, or "green". Buffelgrass persists in the landscape in a highly-flammable senesced state and greens up periodically during the year when sufficient precipitation is received. The localized, heavy rains received during the monsoon season make it difficult to predict when and where it will be green and therefore susceptible to herbicide treatment. The need to enhance the effectiveness as well as to optimize the timing of herbicide treatment for buffelgrass is a high priority for regional land managers. This research is developing a web-based tool that allows managers to predict and confirm optimal timing for herbicide application for invasive species control and to prioritize buffelgrass management activities in their region. This tool is based on the science published by USGS (Wallace et al. 2016) that mapped buffelgrass presence and proposed a strategy to optimize timing of herbicide treatment. The study successfully mapped even low densities of buffelgrass (5%) by developing innovative metrics that coupled Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery and PRISM precipitation data. These “Climate Landscape Response” (CLaRe) metrics leverage the degree of correlation between satellite-detected greenness and precipitation values in each 250m pixel. They expose buffelgrass due to its rapid green-up response to precipitation events, which is reflected in higher CLaRe correlation values. Adding even small amounts of buffelgrass to the native vegetation types is shown to dramatically shifts the CLaRe values higher. Furthermore, CLaRe values are shown to stratify the landscape by relative rooting depths, with deeply rooted vegetation types, such as forest and woodland, showing overall lower CLaRe values than the grasslands and scrub types. Based on these and other results, Wallace et al.

## Questions people ask

### Is G21AS00315 still open?

No. It closed on March 3, 2021. A newer notice is open: G27AS00066, closes December 7, 2026 (30 days left).

### Who can apply for Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Desert Southwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit?

Geological Survey accepted applications from the applicants described in the notice. The notice adds further conditions, so read its eligibility section.

### What is the deadline for Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Desert Southwest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit?

Closed March 3, 2021. Applications are no longer accepted; the program's newer notices are on this page when there are any.

### How much funding is available?

Awards of up to $84,000 each.

### Who has won U.S. Geological Survey Research and Data Collection grants before?

The largest recipients over five fiscal years were Trustees of the Colorado School of Mines, University of Alaska Fairbanks, California Institute of Technology. The program made 1,128 awards worth $629 million in that time.