Linkages between soil and food quality in traditional plant systems

部落学院和大学计划（TCUP）的一个目标是提高为美国土著学生服务的特定高等教育机构的科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）教学和研究能力。扩大这些机构教师的研究努力，可以扩大学生在STEM领域追求具有挑战性、回报丰厚的职业的机会，为可能具有文化意义的领域提供研究，并鼓励社区和世代对科学和数学教育的欣赏。该项目直接符合这一目标，而且还将告知有关生物学意义问题的知识体系。拟议的研究重点是在沿海海洋生态系统内的农业用地上生产与文化相关的浆果和块根作物。目标是：1)在部落拥有的土地上建立和种植传统的浆果和块根作物，并将食品质量与土壤质量联系起来；2)提高教师的研究能力，让部落族大学生参与土壤生态学、植物生物学和民族生物学的研究。将教师与研究联系起来，从而将学生与文化和地理相关的研究联系起来，是留住更有可能攻读高级学位的学生的重要一步。该学院的研究项目测试了以下假设：a)增加的生物多样性增加了多年生和一年生传统植物的植物营养素水平；b)低投入的有机氮施用将增加生物多样性和土壤中有机质的百分比，并降低植物组织中硝酸盐活性的数量。将建立一个传统植物的栽培系统，并在两年的时间内应用和评估生育力处理。将检查植物组织的存活和生长、植物营养素和硝酸盐活性以及产量。此外，还将进行土壤质量、生物活性和生物多样性宏基因组分析。该项目将与西北印第安大学土著食品和传统研究所以及斯威诺米什部落社区的合作伙伴、维多利亚大学、USDA-ARS园艺单位和乌马提拉印第安保留地科学、工程和能源部联合部落的顾问进行合作。该项目将提供：1)展示和调查区域重要的土壤管理和恢复最佳管理实践（BMPs）的场所；2)传统植物营养价值和生理反应量化新方法；3)为教师和学生提供与文化相关的研究和教育机会。

A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education that serve the Nation's indigenous students. Expanding the research efforts of faculty at these institutions expands the opportunities of their students to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in STEM fields, provides for research studies in areas that may be culturally significant, and encourages a community and generational appreciation for science and mathematics education. This project aligns directly with that goal, and moreover will inform the body of knowledge about issues of biological significance. The proposed research focuses on the production of culturally relevant berry and root crops on agricultural land within a coastal marine ecosystem. The goals are to: 1) establish and cultivate traditional berry and roots crops on tribally owned land and link food quality to soil quality; and 2) increase faculty research capacity and engage tribal college students in soil ecology, plant biology, and ethnobiology. The connection of faculty to research and thereby the students to culturally and geographically relevant research is an important step in retaining students who are more likely to pursue advanced degrees. The faculty research project tests hypotheses that state a) increased biological diversity increases the level of phytonutrients in perrenial and annual traditional plants, and b) low input, organic nitrogen applications will increase biological diversity and the percentage of organic matter in soil, and reduce the amount of nitrate activity in plant tissue. A cultivation system of traditional plants will be established with fertility treatments applied and assessed over a two-year period. Plant tissue will be examined for survival and growth, phytonutrients and nitrate activity, and yield. Additionally, soil quality, biologic activity, and biodiversity metagenomic analysis will be performed. The PI will collaborate with partners at the Northwest Indian College Institute for Indigenous Foods and Traditions and the Swinomish Tribal Community, as well as advisors at the University of Victoria, USDA-ARS Horticultural Unit, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Department of Science, Engineering, and Energy. This project will provide: 1) a venue for demonstrating and investigating regionally significant best management practices (BMPs) for soil management and restoration; 2) new methods for quantifying the nutritional value and physiological response of traditional plants; and 3) culturally relevant research and education opportunities for faculty and students.