Project Number: 5342-12660-003-00
Project Type: Appropriated

Start Date: Oct 23, 2003
End Date: Apr 30, 2007

Objective:
The primary problem to be addressed is our inability to quantify the abiotic and biotic effects on erosion and sediment yield by water on semi-arid rangeland watersheds with sufficient accuracy for ranchers, policy, and decision makers. To address this problem, the following objectives were identified. Objective 1 Develop new concepts and improved models for understanding of the characteristics and processes of soil erosion, sediment transport and landscape evolution on arid and semi-arid rangelands. Objective 2 Develop tools and decision support systems for the sustainable management of semi-arid rangelands.

Approach:
The approach falls into three basic categories: A) Methods and Process - Develop new methods and technologies to improve the measurement and modeling of erosion and sediment yield by water at a range of scales including the effects of erosion on the sustainability of ecological sites, source areas of sediment, characteristics of transported sediment in alluvial channels, and abiotic and biotic effects on sediment yield; B) New Sensors and Technologies ' Adapt existing and develop new methods for creating high resolution digital terrain maps, using remote sensing for natural resource model parameterization, and use high resolution sensors to estimate indicators of rangeland sustainability; C) Models and Decision Support Systems ' Use information from the above two categories to evaluate and modify existing soil/water erosion models for application on rangelands and deliver models linked with Geographic Information Systems and decision tools via the internet to the public. Formerly 5342-12660-002-00D (9/03).