Development of the Ninnescah Field Station and Experimental Tract

该奖项为在宁内斯卡野外站和实验区（NFSET）建造一座新的抗龙卷风建筑提供部分支持。 该站位于威奇托西南30英里处，占地133公顷，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，在中间高草草原和旱生短草草原之间的过渡，使它的生态过程沿着生态系统生产力梯度的变化的研究和生态系统对气候变化的响应的研究是有价值的。靠近威奇托为教师和学生的研究、学术实地考察和针对威奇托公立学校学生的外联工作提供了相当方便的途径。2001年至2005年期间，宁内斯卡野外站支持了55个大学课程，并利用该站点的数据发表了5篇科学文章。该地点现有的改进仅限于两辆拖车，提供有限的会议和办公空间。新的3,000平方米。英尺建设将支持生态学和进化生物学的重点不断扩大，以及增加大学间的研究合作和加强教学工作。该建筑，其中包括实验室，教学和图书馆空间，将允许现场经验与课堂教学，计算机访问和博物馆标本的即时整合。在堪萨斯，大多数土地是私人拥有的，种植中耕作物和畜牧业，科学家可以参与土地管理决策，并可以实施长期的实验操作，而不必担心土地管理的变化，这样的网站的价值是突出的。在这一农业景观中，NFSET保留了剩余的大草原，提供了研究机会，并增加了对大草原在我们国家身份中的作用的理解。此外，现场站的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方案，并将为最近资助的NSF GK-12方案的参与者扩大机会。

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.