Excellence in Research: A Spatiotemporal Sustainability Method for Post-Disaster Vegetative Debris Management

风暴会产生大量的植物碎片，这往往需要大量资源才能及时收集和处置。这些丰富的垃圾还具有回收和再利用的巨大潜力，将其从垃圾填埋场转移出去，并在寿命结束时创造价值。然而，关键是要迅速收集和处理碎片(在发生重大分解之前)，以最大限度地发挥其价值。不幸的是，目前的碎片管理做法忽视了不同受风暴影响地区植物碎片的物质条件不同，从而限制了对这些宝贵资源的可持续利用。为了应对这些挑战，这一卓越研究(EIR)项目的首席调查员建议研究和了解风暴植被碎片随时间和空间变化的有机条件，并将这些知识纳入风暴后碎片管理的数据驱动的规划框架。通过考虑受风暴影响地区植被垃圾的演变情况，所提出的规划方法将优化垃圾收集资源分配，以加强收集材料的回收和再利用。该项目的成功完成将通过潜在地改进灾后碎片规划、减少废物和创造有价值的报废材料而造福社会。学生教育和培训将为社会带来更多好处，包括指导两名研究生，以及指导佛罗里达农业和机械大学(FAMU)的一名博士后学者和加州理工州立大学的一名研究生。大量植物残骸需要大量资源才能及时管理。植物性材料具有很大的回收和再利用潜力，可以减少垃圾填埋废物，并在临终材料中创造价值。然而，有机材料的分解对实现可持续利用构成了挑战。鉴于储存条件和地理分布以及收集、临时储存和最终使用或处置过程中的时间变化，在知情的可持续灾害废物管理规划中必须同时考虑空间和时间方面的变化。为了应对这一挑战，该项目的首席调查员建议调查和揭示与风暴有关的植物碎片在空间和时间上的特征和演变，将这一认识纳入以数据为导向的碎片管理规划，以加强回收、再利用和促进可持续废物管理做法。具体的研究目标是：1)确定植被碎片的时间演变，并模拟未收集的碎片的动态分解潜力；2)开发基于主体的碎片收集作业模拟模型，并利用该模拟模型和材料评估模型，比较空间扩展的时间绩效驱动的方法和仅考虑时间的方法；以及3)发展一种新的基于时空可持续性的碎片恢复规划方法。这一项目的成功完成可导致灾后规划的范式转变，从传统的基于时间的框架过渡到新的扩展的基于时间和空间的框架，以实现更有效和可持续的碎片管理。为了落实该项目的教育和培训目标，私人投资促进机构计划参与FAMU的创新教育工程学生(EESI)计划，以加强STEM中代表性不足的学生的学习。此外，PIS计划与当地机构和承包商合作，使研究产品与管理实践更相关。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Storms generate large volumes of vegetative debris, which often require significant resources for timely collection and disposal. This abundant debris also holds great potential for recycling and reuse, diverting it from landfills and creating value in end-of-life materials. However, it is critical to collect and process the debris promptly (before significant decomposition occurs) to maximize its value. Unfortunately, current debris management practices overlook the varying material conditions of vegetative debris in different storm-affected areas, limiting the sustainable use of these valuable resources. To address these challenges, the Principal Investigators (PIs) of this this Excellence in Research (EiR) project propose to study and understand the changing organic conditions of storm vegetative debris over time and space and integrate this knowledge into a data-driven planning framework for post-storm debris management. By considering the evolving condition of vegetative debris across storm-affected areas, the proposed planning method will optimize debris collection resource allocation to enhance recycling and reuse of collected materials. The successful completion of this project will benefit society through the potential improvement of post-disaster debris planning, waste reduction, and the creation of valuable end-of-life materials. Additional benefits to society will be achieved through student education and training including the mentoring of two graduate students as well as mentoring of a post-doctoral scholar at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) and mentoring of a graduate student at California Polytechnic State University.Large quantities of vegetative debris require significant resources for timely management. Vegetative holds substantial potential for recycling and reuse, reducing landfill waste and creating value in end-of-life materials. However, the decomposition of organic materials poses challenges to achieving sustainable utilization. Given the spatial variability due to storage conditions and geographic distribution, as well as the temporal changes during collection, temporary storage, and final use or disposal, it is crucial to consider both spatial and temporal aspects in informed sustainable disaster waste management planning. To address this challenge, the Principal Investigators (PIs) of this project propose to investigate and unravel the characteristics and evolution of storm-related vegetative debris in space and time, integrating this understanding into data-driven debris management planning to enhance recycling, reuse, and advance sustainable waste management practices. The specific research objectives are to 1) identify the temporal evolution of vegetative debris and model the dynamic decomposition potential of uncollected debris; 2) develop an agent-based modeling (ABM) simulation model of debris collection operations and compare the spatially extended temporal performance-driven approach with the temporal-only approach using the simulation model and material assessment model; and 3) develop a novel spatial-temporal sustainability-based planning methodology for debris recovery. The successful completion of this project could lead to a paradigm shift in post-disaster planning, transitioning from the conventional time-based framework to a novel extended time- and space-based framework to enable more effective and sustainable debris management. To implement the education and training goals of the project, the PIs plan to engage with the Educating Engineering Students Innovatively (EESI) program at FAMU to enhance learning of students underrepresented in STEM. In addition, the PIs plan to engage with local agencies and contractors to make research products more relevant to management practicesThis award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.