BRC-BIO: Carbon sequestration potential and drought resilience with wet meadow restoration under a changing climate

Global air temperature has increased by over one degree Celsius since the industrial revolution and is on its way to reaching two degrees Celsius by 2041. This scenario will cause devasting impacts on both social and ecological systems. Particularly hit hard is the western United States. That region is experiencing widespread warming, decrease in precipitation, and decline in snowpack resulting in more frequent and severe droughts. Land restoration practices can impact ecosystem resilience to drought conditions by affecting the ability for soils to effectively store water. In addition, restoration has the potential to increase soil carbon through increased plant growth and decay. However, how restoration efforts influence the amount of soil water and carbon stored in soils is poorly understood over large spatial scales. In addition, land restoration projects may affect the ability for soils to effectively store water. By taking an integrative approach, this research will study what can be learned about land restoration projects and changes in soil conditions at a landscape scale. It will provide new insights into the use of data from remote sensing tools to quantify ecosystems changes. The work will also provide immersive research and education experiences for undergraduate students. These experiences included participation in a summer field course where students will have opportunities to connect with a variety of non-academic partners. Restoration projects cover large landscapes, making on the ground measurements inadequate in accurately quantifying carbon storage and resilience at broad spatial scales. This project will assess the effectiveness of using remote sensing tools to quantify changes in soil moisture across landscapes. The work will evaluate the carbon sequestration potential of restoring wet meadows within the Gunnison Basin of Colorado. Remote sensing soil moisture data will be collected within restored watersheds using Sentinel-1 satellites and commissioned flights with the UAV, Black Swift S2 and will be validated with in situ soil moisture data to check retrieval accuracies. Carbon sequestration potential will be evaluated by measuring soil carbon stocks in restored and unrestored watersheds. Until now, data from these different sources have not been combined to quantify soil moisture in an ecological context. This study will be the first to do so. So, not only does this research provide an opportunity to address important land management questions, it will also explore an innovative methodology. Results from this study will help assess the impact of restoration efforts and their potential to serve as a climate mitigation tool within the Gunnison Basin and beyond as similar wet meadow restoration projects are occurring across the western United States in regions where the near threatened greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) occupy. Restoration practices that help restore hydrology within this region, the headwaters of the Colorado River, have the potential to impact the millions of people reliant on the Colorado River water supply. 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.