Grants / Department of Defense / Engineer Research and Development Center

W81EWF-23-SOI-0010: Determining drivers of floodplain forest regeneration success and failure on the Upper Mississippi River in Minnesota and Wisconsin

Closed Closed June 20, 2023 Opportunity W81EWF-23-SOI-0010 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: ERDC Broad Agency Announcement (W912HZ26S0001). Status: Closes January 1, 2027 (55 days left). It is in our archive of Engineer Research and Development Center notices from 2023.

• Award ceiling$61,592
• Total funding$272,871
• Expected awards1
• 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 opportunity is restricted to non-federal partners of the Great Lakes / Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU). Disclosures of current and pending support made in this application may render an applicant ineligible for funding. Prior to award and throughout the period of performance, ERDC may continue to request updated continuing and pending support information, which will be reviewed and may result in discontinuation of funding. Religious organizations are entitled to compete on equal footing with secular organizations for Federal financial assistance as described in E.O. 13798, “Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty.”

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Basic, Applied, and Advanced Research in Science and Engineering awards averaged $1.1 million; this notice allows up to $61,592 per award.
• Most of the program's money (69% over five years) went to colleges and universities.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

The floodplain forests of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) Basin play a critical role in maintaining water quality, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities. However, these forests systems are not static. Interactions among shifting climatic patterns, invasive species (especially reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea)), forest health (e.g. Dutch elm disease and emerald ash borer), herbivores, low tree species diversity, and aging stands with limited regeneration are threatening to push these forest communities past critical ecological “tipping points.” These tipping points lead to drastic shifts in community composition and structure (e.g. conversion to non-forest conditions), making ecosystem restoration and rehabilitation significantly more difficult and greatly reducing the resilience of these systems. Within the UMR floodplain in Minnesota, Wisconsin and northeast Iowa (UMR Pools 1-10), this problem is particularly acute – current forest inventory data indicates that forest regeneration is completely absent over 57% of inventory plots and of the areas. Of the remaining plots with documented regeneration, almost 25% of plots are dominated by ash or elm regeneration, but both of these species have minimal potential for long-term survival on the sites due to insects and diseases. Without viable regeneration, these forests will convert to non-forest cover types in coming decades as current canopy trees begin to die. Proactive management actions can aid in reducing the chance of future forest loss, but there is limited research or institutional knowledge along the Upper Mississippi available on the mechanisms driving regeneration of key floodplain forest tree species and, therefore, management actions to promote regeneration of trees often result in failure. The current study aims to identify key drivers of regeneration for a handful of currently widespread floodplain forest tree species and to test a set of management techniques to promote the establishment of regeneration from seed. This information is critical for developing management strategies to ensure long-term viability of UMR Floodplain Forests.

Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, W912HZ26S0001, which is open now.

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