Ariel Appleton Research Fellowship to Develop a Threat-Assessment Map for the Sonoita Plain

Requested by The Research Ranch Foundation and sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank

Objective: To develop a threat-assessment map that will allow land managers, conservationists, planners, scientists, and others with similar concerns to identify and prioritize grassland areas where the ecological condition is likely to change dramatically in the near future. The threat-assessment project is in support of efforts to conserve, protect, and properly manage grasslands and related savannas and riparian areas of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan ecoregions, as represented by grasslands of the Sonoita Plain near Elgin, Arizona. The tentative title of this activity is Ecological-hazard maps, Sonoita Plain, Arizona.
Overview: The maps are to be the first phase of a case study of ecosystem services that can demonstrate the utility and value of a compilation generated for the Sonoita Plain. The maps are intended as narrowly scoped products of an investigation into the ecosystem, ecosystem services, and natural and economic resources of semiarid grasslands and savannas. The maps are to be constructed as examples of the sorts of information that can be supplied to organizations such as landowners associations of the Sonoita Plain, governmental bodies of Santa Cruz County, and conservation groups. The mapped area is to be restricted to the Sonoita Plain, but is intended to be representative of semiarid grassland areas of both the United States and Mexico. Given funding availability, the geographic scope of the project will be expanded to include a second pilot area that will include the Chihuahuan Desert grasslands near the Cajon Bonoito to the south, Agua Prieta to the west, San Bernandino National Wildlife Reserve to the north, and upland grasslands separating the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts to the east.
Activity: The principal goal of the Fellowship is to develop threat-assessment maps that are similar to flood-hazard maps delineating areas based on the statistical recurrence of flooding (that is, the potential threat of damage resulting from flooding). The maps are to identify grassland areas in which ecological condition is likely to be degraded in the near future by changes in land use and development, fire regime, climate, encroachment of invasive and exotic species, and depletion of the water resource.
1. Inputs and sources of information: The maps are to be developed from existing sources of information, including maps of land use, vegetation cover, exposure to the effects of climate change, precipitation averages, ground-water pumping, and aerial photographs and satellite imagery. In addition, published reports of pertinent investigations in the Sonoita Plain area will provide a foundation for the Fellowship work. Examples are (1) Water Use and the Future of the Sonoita Valley, by Robert Naeser and Anne St. John (in Tellman, Barbara, Flinch, D. M., Edminster, Carl, and Hamre, Robert (eds.), 1998, The Future of Arid Grasslands: Identifying Issues, Seeking Solutions: Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, CO, p. 186-200), (2) streamflow records compiled by the U. S. Geological Survey for gauges of the general area at Cienega Creek near Sonoita, AZ, Cienega Creek near Pantano, AZ, and Pantano Wash near Vail, AZ, and (3) biological-diversity inventories of.selected species of plants, insects, reptiles, rodents, mammals, and birds, compiled by C. E. and J. H. Bock and summarized in Effects of Exurban Development on Biodiversity: A Case Study From the Sonoita Valley of Arizona. These resources are only examples; up-to-date data and reports will need to be compiled.
2. Map construction: The construction of the threat-assessment tool is expected to be mainly a GIS exercise in which the focus will be on the organization, compilation, and synthesis from existing sources of information as described in the above paragraph. Although field work will required in the future to validate and fill information gaps, only minimal field time is anticipated as part of this Fellowship.
3. The Fellowship awardee will be provided work space and related and needed resources at offices of the Sonoran Institute, Tucson; supervision will be provided by Joe Marlow (Sonoran Institute) and will be supplemented by W. R. Osterkamp of the Research Ranch Foundation. The Nature Conservancy has generated similar maps and staff scientists of the Sonoran Institute, Tucson, AZ, have conducted studies of the natural resources, ecosystem services, and the economic aspects of land-use changes in areas such as the Sonoita Plain; both will be invited to collaborate and provide guidance.
4. b Principal concerns to be considered for development of hazard maps are subject to change, but beginning topics for map construction are (1) the development of information on the water balance/water budget of the grasslands in the Sonoita Plain, (2) related investigations into the effects on grasses and trees of the area due to regional drought and global warming of air temperatures, and (3) the estimation, as an economic hazard, of the monetary value of water provided by these grasslands.

Amount: $5000; costs for conducting the investigation, including office and computer support, and minor equipment needs, will be supplied by The Sonoran Institute and The Research Ranch Foundation. Payment will be made directly to the successful applicant.

Duration: Map construction is to be completed within one year; if funds become available, an extension for a second year may be considered. Map construction is to be completed within one year; if funds become available, an extension for a second year may be considered.

Eligibility: A minimum of an undergraduate degree in the natural sciences, especially biology, ecology, hydrology, natural resources, environmental science, and related fields is required. Graduate students currently enrolled at recognized academic institutions will receive priority. Funds to support travel to southern Arizona are not available, so graduate students of southern Arizona especially are encouraged to apply.

Dates: Complete electronic applications must be received on or before 30 November, 2009, by W. R. Osterkamp (wroster@usgs.gov). An award will be announced by on 31 December, 2009.

Application Requirements: applications must be received electronically, and must include four parts in the order given below:

Biography of applicant including field experience, relevant courses completed, and other information the applicant deems relevant.
Expected approach to fulfilling obligations of the Fellowship. This description of approach should be based largely on the background information contained in this request for applications and is not to exceed two pages. All information, excluding literature citations, must adhere to the two-page limit.
A letter of support from the faculty advisor stating that the applicant is capable of conducting the proposed project.

Address questions to W. R. Osterkamp (wroster@usgs.gov; 520-670-6821 ex. 113).

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