RAPID: Unraveling rates of wind erosion and potential dust emission post Smokehouse Creek Fire in Texas

该项目将沿着放牧强度的梯度表征被烧毁的表层土壤的特性，并对德克萨斯州狭长地带烟雾屋小溪火灾后的风蚀率和粉尘排放进行时间监测。这场野火是该州有记录以来最大的一场大火，烧毁了100多万英亩土地。此前的研究表明，野火会引发显著的土壤侵蚀。这项研究项目响应了捕捉被侵蚀物质第一次冲刷的迫切需要。土壤资源的侵蚀、再分配和沉积与景观恢复密切相关。与联邦机构的合作和伙伴关系，包括美国农业部和自然资源保护中心，将有助于设计该地区这些牧场的长期管理。该项目将为一所西班牙裔服务学院的两名本科生提供培训机会。干旱和半干旱地区的牧场容易受到野火后风沙侵蚀速度的增加。然而，野火的影响超越了风蚀和粉尘排放，因为这些牧场的植被恢复可能取决于土地利用的历史和以前的植被类型。该项目将量化受火灾影响的牧场(草原、灌丛、放牧和非放牧地点作为处理)的风蚀和粉尘排放速度。数据将通过沉积物采样器和便携式风蚀模拟器收集。这些信息可能会促进我们对野火对不同植被类型和放牧强度地点的风蚀率影响的基础科学理解的进步，并确定这些景观的恢复轨迹。这一奖项反映了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。

This project will characterize properties of burned surface soils along a gradient of grazing intensity and conduct temporal monitoring of wind erosion rates and dust emission after the Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas Panhandle region. This wildfire is the largest fire ever recorded in the state’s history and burned more than 1 million acres. Previous research has shown that wildfires can trigger significant rates of soil erosion. This research project responds to the urgent need to capture the first flush of eroded materials. Erosion, redistribution, and deposition of soil resources are intimately connected to landscape recovery. Collaboration and partnership with federal agencies, including the USDA and NRCS, will aid in designing long-term management of these rangelands in the region. The project will provide training opportunity to two undergraduate students at a Hispanic Serving Institution.Rangelands in arid and semi-arid regions are susceptible to enhanced rates of aeolian erosion following a wildfire. However, the impacts of wildfire extend beyond wind erosion and dust emission as vegetation recovery in these rangelands could be dependent on history of land-use and antecedent vegetation type. The project will quantify the rates of wind erosion and dust emission in rangelands (grassland, shrubland, grazed vs ungrazed sites as treatments) affected by the fire. The data will be collected with sediment samplers and a portable wind erosion simulator. This information could lead to advances in our fundamental scientific understanding of the impact of wildfire on the rate of wind erosion from sites with different vegetation types and grazing intensity and determine the recovery trajectory of these landscapes.This 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.