Development of the Ninnescah Field Station and Experimental Tract

该合同为在宁尼斯卡野战站和实验区(NFSET)建造一座新的、抗龙卷风的建筑提供部分支持。空间站位于威奇托西南30英里处，133公顷的混合用途土地上，包括未开垦的低地草原、恢复的中草草原、河岸林地和湿地。这一位置处于中生高草草原和干旱短草草原之间，对于研究生态过程随生态系统生产力梯度的变化和生态系统对气候变化的响应具有重要价值。靠近威奇托，为教职员工和学生进行研究、学术实地考察和针对威奇托公立学校学生的外展活动提供了相当方便的途径。2001至2005年间，宁尼斯卡野战站支持了55门大学课程，并利用该网站的数据发表了5篇科学论文。该场地现有的改进仅限于提供有限会议和办公空间的两个拖车。新的3000平方英尺。英国《金融时报》建设将支持在生态学和进化生物学方面不断扩大的重点，以及增加大学间的研究合作和加强教学努力。该建筑包括实验室、教学和图书馆空间，可以立即将实地经验与课堂教学、计算机访问和博物馆标本相结合。在堪萨斯州，像NFSET这样的网站的价值得到了强调，那里的大多数土地都是私人所有的，而且是在行作物和畜牧业中。在这里，科学家可以参与土地管理决策，并可以实施长期的实验性操作，而不需要担心土地管理的变化。在这种农业景观中，NFSET保留了残存的草原，这些草原提供了研究机会，并增加了对草原在我们国家认同中的作用的理解。此外，野外空间站建设将加强涉及威奇托州立大学生物科学系和威奇托公立学校的现有外联计划，并将为最近资助的NSF GK-12计划的参与者扩大机会。

This award provides partial support for construction of a new, tornado resistant building at the Ninnescah Field Station and Experimental Tract (NFSET). The station is located 30 mi southwest of Wichita on 133 ha of mixed use land, including unplowed lowland prairie, restored midgrass prairie, riparian woodlands, and wetlands. This location, at the transition between mesic tallgrass prairie and xeric shortgrass steppe, makes it valuable for studies of variation in ecological processes along ecosystem productivity gradients and for the study of ecosystem response to climate change. The proximity to Wichita affords reasonably easy access for faculty and student research, academic field trips, and outreach efforts aimed at students in the Wichita public schools. Between 2001 and 2005, the Ninnescah Field Station supported 55 university courses and 5 scientific articles were published using data from the site. Existing improvements at the site are limited to two trailers that provide limited meeting and office space. The new 3,000 sq. ft. building will support an expanding emphasis in ecology and evolutionary biology, as well as increased inter-university research collaborations and enhanced teaching efforts. The building, which includes laboratory, instructional and library space, will allow immediate integration of field experiences with classroom instruction, computer access, and museum specimens. The value of sites like the NFSET, where scientists can participate in land management decisions and can implement long-term experimental manipulations without concerns about change in land management, is accentuated in Kansas where most land is privately-owned and in row-crop and livestock agriculture. Amid this agricultural landscape, the NFSET preserves remnant prairies that provide research opportunities and increase understanding of the role of prairies in our national identity. In addition, the field station building will enhance existing outreach programs involving the Wichita State University Department of Biological Sciences and the Wichita Public Schools, and will expand opportunities for participants in a recently funded NSF GK-12 program.