Linkages between soil and food quality in traditional plant systems

部落学院和大学方案(TCUP)的一个目标是提高为本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。扩大这些机构的教职员工的研究努力将扩大学生在STEM领域追求具有挑战性、有回报的职业的机会，提供可能具有文化意义的领域的研究性学习，并鼓励社区和世代对科学和数学教育的欣赏。该项目直接与这一目标相一致，而且将向知识主体通报具有生物学意义的问题。拟议的研究侧重于在沿海海洋生态系统内的农地上生产与文化相关的浆果和根茎作物。目标是：1)在部落所有的土地上建立和种植传统的浆果和根茎作物，并将食物质量与土壤质量联系起来；2)提高教师的研究能力，让部落大学生参与土壤生态学、植物生物学和民族生物学。在留住更有可能攻读更高学位的学生方面，教师与研究的联系，从而将学生与文化和地理相关的研究联系起来，是重要的一步。该学院的研究项目测试了这样的假设：a)生物多样性的增加增加了盆栽和一年生传统植物中的植物营养素水平，b)低投入的有机氮肥将增加生物多样性和土壤中有机质的比例，并减少植物组织中硝酸盐的活性。将建立传统植物栽培体系，并在两年内应用和评估肥力处理。将对植物组织进行生存和生长、植物营养和硝酸盐活性以及产量的检查。此外，还将进行土壤质量、生物活性和生物多样性元基因组分析。PI将与西北印度学院土著食品和传统研究所和Swinomish部落社区的合作伙伴，以及维多利亚大学、美国农业部-ARS园艺单位和乌马提拉印第安人保留地科学、工程和能源部的南方部落的顾问合作。该项目将提供：1)展示和调查在土壤管理和恢复方面具有区域意义的最佳管理实践(BMP)的场所；2)量化传统植物的营养价值和生理反应的新方法；以及3)为教职员工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.