REU Site: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Stream Restoration Projects Based on Natural Channel Design Concepts Using Process-Based Investigations

这个本科生研究体验(REU)网站将在2015-2017年的夏季为七名本科生提供为期十周的研究体验。REU的这一地点将在迅速扩大的河流恢复领域产生重要的科学发现，这对改善水质、最大限度地减少下游洪水以及提供河岸和水生栖息地具有环境和社会效益。参与者将从多学科协作和经验丰富的指导中受益。学生将接受有关职业道德、负责任的研究行为、研究写作、不同学科使用的最先进设备以及职业和研究生机会的职业发展培训。成果将在地方、区域和国家会议的出版物/演示文稿、在线视频以及与社会和社区团体的互动中传播。该项目的学生将从不同的群体中招募。俄克拉荷马州也很独特，因为它高度农村，有很大比例的美洲原住民和第一代大学生。拟议的REU计划将结合国家招聘从这些人群中招募人才。研究将包括俄克拉荷马州立大学(OSU)校区牛溪流康复地点的水文学、地球科学和生物学方面的研究。在最近修复的大学校园里研究溪流的机会是独一无二的。该计划的中心主题将是讨论恢复溪流的方法，并通过基于过程的调查具体评估自然河道设计方法。目前很多溪流整治工程都采用天然河道设计理念，经常受到诟病。另一种选择是对动力系统和河流改造对水力学、泥沙输送和生物群落的影响进行复杂的、基于过程的分析。该项目假设，未来的修复方法很可能类似于自然航道设计和基于过程的技术的变形组合。学生将参与研究项目，量化植被对河岸侵蚀的作用，记录溪流结构对河流保持的影响，评估沉积物对鱼类的影响，使用水生大型无脊椎动物评估河岸改造，评估植物多样性反应，以及研究植被对溪流温度的影响。

This Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site will provide seven undergraduate students a research experience over a ten week period during the summers of 2015-2017. This REU site will generate important scientific discoveries in the rapidly expanding field of stream restoration, which has environmental and societal benefits of improving water quality, minimizing downstream flooding, and providing riparian and aquatic habitat. Participants will benefit from multi-disciplinary collaboration and experienced mentoring. Students will receive professional development training on ethics, responsible conduct of research, research writing, state-of-the-art equipment used in various disciplines, and career and graduate school opportunities. Results will be disseminated in publications/presentations at local, regional, and national meetings, through on-line videos, and also through interaction with society and community groups. Students for the program will be recruited from diverse groups. Oklahoma is also unique in that it is highly rural with a large percentage of Native Americans and first generation college students. The proposed REU program will recruit from these populations in combination with national recruitment.The research will include studies in hydrology, geosciences, and biology at the Cow Creek Stream Rehabilitation Site on the Oklahoma State University (OSU) campus. The opportunity to study streams at a site on a University campus recently rehabilitated is unique. The central theme of the program will be discussing ways to rehabilitate streams, and specifically evaluating natural channel design approaches through process-based investigations. Many current stream rehabilitation projects use natural channel design concepts, which are often criticized. The alternative is a complex, process-based analysis of the dynamic system and impact of stream modifications on the hydraulics, sediment transport, and biological community. This project hypothesizes that future restoration approaches will most likely resemble a morphed combination of natural channel design and process-based techniques. Students will participate in research projects quantifying the role of vegetation on streambank erosion, documenting the influence of in-stream structures on retention in the stream, evaluating the effect of sediment on fish, using aquatic macroinvertebrates to assess streambank modifications, evaluating plant diversity response, and studying vegetation impacts on stream temperature.