An Ecohydrology Monitoring Array for Water Sustainability, Biological Diversity and Integrated Research/Education Programs at the Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center

加州大学欧文分校获得了一笔赠款，用于提高环境感知能力，支持斯蒂尔/伯恩和安扎-博雷戈沙漠研究中心（SBABDRC）的研究、教育和推广，该中心位于加州大学欧文分校（UCI）管理的加州大学自然保护区系统（UCNRS）内。资金将用于建立一个生态水文阵列，通过安装七个小型远程自动化气象站，沿着1300米海拔梯度，测量Borrego泉谷和Anza-Borrego沙漠州立公园（ABDSP；管理SBABDRC的合作伙伴）内不同环境和地形的环境和水平衡特征。研究中心的数据通信和连接将得到升级，并与校园资源相连。这种基础设施的增强是针对NSF最近优先考虑的研究领域，这些领域是由当代社会面临的重大挑战（如水资源的未来和非本地物种入侵的影响）所驱动的。由这笔拨款支持的生态水文阵列将能够为设施用户和以我们场地为中心的各种项目测量环境和水平衡特征。生态水文阵列将具体连接到四个项目领域：(1)专注于理解全球变化背景下水资源可持续性的学术研究；(2)评估非本地物种对当地生物多样性影响的社区参与研究；(3)本科生和研究生在生态学和进化方面的实地经验；(4)与教师培训和K-12课程加强相关的外展和参与活动。将数据集成到UCI现有的环境门户和服务器位置，以及通用的收集/门户设施，将为增强功能提供广泛的访问权限。该项目将鼓励利用野外观测站整合许多潜在学科的研究，我们将连接和补充整个美国西南部不断增长的生态水文评估网络（包括两个关键区观测站（criticalzone.org），许多美洲通量站点（Ameriflux.ornl.gov），海拔阵列（如NevCAM） （sensor.nevada.edu），以及植被变化样带，如半干旱生态水文阵列，或SECA）。该项目不仅将为UCI的教职员工和学生提供服务，还将在全国范围内提供数据，以吸引其他大学和周边社区的新用户。

The University of California Irvine is awarded a grant to improve the environmental sensing capacity supporting research, education, and outreach at the Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center (SBABDRC), a site within the University of California Natural Reserve System (UCNRS) administered by the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Funds will be used to build an eco-hydrology array measuring environmental and water balance characteristics over the diverse settings and landforms within the Borrego Springs Valley and sites within Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP; a cooperating partner in administering SBABDRC) along a 1300 m elevation gradient through installation of seven small stature remote automated weather stations. Data communication and connectivity at the Research Center will be upgraded and linked to campus based resources. This infrastructure enhancement is targeting research areas recently prioritized by NSF, which are motivated by contemporary grand challenges facing society (such as the future of water resources and impact of non-native species invasions).The eco-hydrology array supported by this grant will enable measurement of environmental and water balance characteristics for users of the facility and the diverse projects centered at our site. The eco-hydrology array will connect specifically to four program areas: (1) academic research focused on understanding water sustainability in the context of global change, (2) community engaged research evaluating the impacts of non-native species on local biodiversity, (3) undergraduate and graduate field experiences in ecology and evolution, and (4) outreach and engagement activities associated with teacher training and K-12 curricular enhancement. The integration of data to our existing environmental portal and server locations at UCI, along with common collection/portal facilities will provide broad access to the enhancements.This project will encourage research that integrates many potential disciplines utilizing the field station and we will connect and compliment the growing networks of eco hydrological assessments throughout the southwestern U.S. (including two Critical Zone Observatories (criticalzone.org), a number of AmeriFlux sites (Ameriflux.ornl.gov), elevational arrays such as NevCAM (sensor.nevada.edu), and vegetation change transects such as the Semiarid Ecohydrological Array, or SECA. This project will not only serve UCI faculty and students but will also make data available nationally to entice new users from other universities and the surrounding community.