Grants / Department of the Interior / Geological Survey

G21AS00555: Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

Closed Closed August 6, 2021 Opportunity G21AS00555 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with Alaska Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (G27AS00066). Status: Closes December 7, 2026 (30 days left). It is in our archive of Geological Survey notices from 2021.

• Award ceiling$498,000
• Award floor$108,500
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

• 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 Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past U.S. Geological Survey Research and Data Collection awards averaged $557,251; this notice allows up to $498,000 per award.
• Most of the program's money (84% over five years) went to colleges and universities.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in riparian vegetation physiological experiments and synthesis of existing data for predictive modeling of vegetation responses to river flow alterations. These activities will use species occurring on the Colorado Plateau and historic data that includes photo archives, remotely sensed data, and other monitoring data of riparian vegetation on the Colorado Plateau, including along the Colorado River ecosystem (CRe) in Arizona. The research will address questions related to riparian vegetation change over time as it relates to flood events, drought, and climate variables along a regulated river. Both existing data and new data will be required to complete the research. While large monitoring datasets exist for the CRe, key relationships between river flows, climate, and plant response are still poorly understood. Seasonal variations in base flows (minimum flow volume) and daily fluctuating flows both influence the composition of riparian vegetation within different hydrological zones in the CRe. High-Flow Experiments (HFEs) influence vegetation by depositing sand at different elevations associated with river stage, thereby creating habitats with varying depths to the water table. The separate effects of base and daily fluctuating flows on vegetation cannot be determined from observational monitoring alone because they are highly correlated: lower stage-elevation habitats occur closer to or within the active river channel and experience greater magnitude daily fluctuations than higher stage-elevation habitats. Experiments are therefore necessary to independently vary these factors in order to disentangle their independent and interactive effects on vegetation composition. Thus, two lines of research, modeling with existing data and conducting new experiments, are needed.

Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, G27AS00066, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.