Opportunity Information: Apply for P16AS00232
Apply for P16AS00232
- The DOI-NPS in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent: Impact of Forest restoration activities on soil compaction and soil biological communities" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jun 10, 2016 and posted on Jun 10, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 19, 2016. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $130,287.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Opportunity Summary:
This Notice of Intent (Funding Opportunity Number P16AS00232) is a National Park Service (DOI-NPS) discretionary funding opportunity that would be awarded as a cooperative agreement. The project focuses on a topic that land managers often struggle to quantify: how forest restoration actions, especially mechanical thinning and the use of heavy logging equipment, alter soil conditions and the living soil community that supports forest health. The opportunity is framed around the idea that soil organisms are easy to overlook because they are hard to observe, yet they drive many of the processes that keep ecosystems functioning, such as carbon and nutrient cycling, fertility, soil structure and stability, and the soil's ability to retain and transmit water.
The core purpose is to connect forest treatment practices to both abiotic soil changes and biological responses. On the abiotic side, the work targets physical and chemical indicators that are commonly affected by machinery and disturbance, including soil compaction and bulk density, hydrologic behavior (such as infiltration and hydraulic conductivity), organic matter, and total soil carbon and nitrogen. On the biotic side, the project looks at multiple soil organism groups that represent different roles in the ecosystem: bacteria and fungi (key decomposers and drivers of nutrient transformations), nematodes (often used as indicators of soil food web condition and nutrient cycling pathways), and microarthropods (important decomposers and regulators of microbial communities). By measuring several groups rather than just one, the project aims to produce a more complete picture of soil "health" and function after restoration activities.
The work is proposed across four forest types: ponderosa pine, xeric mixed conifer, mesic mixed conifer, and aspen. That design matters because soil texture, moisture regimes, organic matter inputs, and baseline biological communities can differ substantially among these systems, meaning the same restoration treatment could have different consequences depending on where it is applied. The project is structured as two complementary experiments examining mechanical thinning impacts; while the notice highlights both, the description provides the most detail on the first experiment.
In the first experiment, the study explicitly tests how repeated passes of heavy logging equipment change soil conditions. Treatments range from no equipment traffic to one through ten passes over the same soil surface, implemented at five sites within each of the four forest types. This creates a gradient of disturbance intensity that can be used to identify thresholds, such as how many passes it takes before compaction becomes severe or infiltration drops sharply. A key feature is that measurements are taken before the initial pass and before each subsequent pass, allowing the study to track how impacts accumulate over time rather than relying on a single before-and-after snapshot. The primary measurements called out for this repeated-pass component include soil bulk density, soil compaction, and soil water infiltration using standard field methods.
Across both experiments, the project plans to quantify a consistent set of soil physical and chemical variables: bulk density, compaction, hydraulic conductivity, water infiltration rate, soil organic matter, and total carbon and nitrogen. To characterize soil biological communities, the notice proposes combining traditional microscopy-based identification and counting with molecular approaches to capture both abundance and diversity in bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and microarthropods. This mixed-method approach is meant to strengthen inference, since microscopy can provide direct organism counts and functional group information while molecular tools can detect cryptic diversity and organisms that are difficult to identify visually.
Administratively, the opportunity lists a single expected award with a stated award ceiling of $130,287. The posting and creation dates are June 10, 2016, with an application closing date of June 19, 2016. Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, along with other eligible entities as clarified in the opportunity materials. The CFDA number associated with the program is 15.945, and the activity category is Natural Resources. Overall, the opportunity is aimed at producing practical, management-relevant evidence about how restoration operations influence soil structure, water movement, and the soil food web across multiple forest types, helping managers weigh restoration benefits against potential soil impacts and refine practices to protect long-term ecosystem function.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is this funding opportunity?
This is a National Park Service (DOI-NPS) discretionary funding opportunity described as a Notice of Intent under Funding Opportunity Number P16AS00232. The award is expected to be made as a cooperative agreement.
Which agency is offering the award?
The opportunity is offered by the National Park Service (NPS), within the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI).
What type of award is expected?
The notice indicates the project would be awarded as a cooperative agreement.
How many awards are expected?
The opportunity lists a single expected award.
What is the maximum award amount?
The stated award ceiling is $130,287.
What is the CFDA number for this program?
The CFDA number associated with this opportunity is 15.945.
What is the activity/category area for this opportunity?
The activity category is Natural Resources.
What is the main purpose of the project?
The project is designed to connect forest restoration practices to changes in soil conditions and to biological responses in the living soil community that supports forest health.
Why does the opportunity focus on soils and soil organisms?
The notice frames soil organisms as easy to overlook because they are hard to observe, yet essential because they drive key ecosystem processes such as carbon and nutrient cycling, fertility, soil structure and stability, and the soil's ability to retain and transmit water.
What kinds of forest restoration actions are emphasized?
The focus is on forest restoration actions, especially mechanical thinning and the use of heavy logging equipment.
What soil changes (abiotic indicators) does the project plan to measure?
The project targets physical and chemical soil indicators commonly affected by machinery and disturbance, including soil compaction, bulk density, hydrologic behavior (such as infiltration and hydraulic conductivity), soil organic matter, and total soil carbon and nitrogen.
Which specific soil physical and chemical variables are planned across the project?
Across both experiments, the planned variables include bulk density, compaction, hydraulic conductivity, water infiltration rate, soil organic matter, and total carbon and nitrogen.
What biological (biotic) components does the project plan to study?
The project examines multiple soil organism groups: bacteria and fungi, nematodes, and microarthropods.
Why include multiple soil organism groups instead of only one?
By measuring several groups that represent different roles in the ecosystem, the project aims to produce a more complete picture of soil health and function following restoration activities.
What roles do the target organism groups play, according to the notice?
The notice describes bacteria and fungi as key decomposers and drivers of nutrient transformations; nematodes as indicators of soil food web condition and nutrient cycling pathways; and microarthropods as important decomposers and regulators of microbial communities.
Which forest types are included in the study design?
The work is proposed across four forest types: ponderosa pine, xeric mixed conifer, mesic mixed conifer, and aspen.
Why does the project include multiple forest types?
The notice highlights that soil texture, moisture regimes, organic matter inputs, and baseline biological communities can differ substantially among forest types, so the same restoration treatment may have different consequences depending on where it is applied.
How is the research structured?
The project is structured as two complementary experiments examining mechanical thinning impacts, with the notice providing the most detail on the first experiment.
What is the first experiment about?
The first experiment explicitly tests how repeated passes of heavy logging equipment change soil conditions.
What are the equipment-traffic treatment levels in the repeated-pass experiment?
Treatments range from no equipment traffic to one through ten passes over the same soil surface.
How many sites are involved in the repeated-pass experiment?
The repeated-pass component is implemented at five sites within each of the four forest types.
Why use a range of passes from 0 to 10?
This creates a gradient of disturbance intensity intended to help identify thresholds, such as the number of passes associated with severe compaction or sharp drops in infiltration.
When are soil measurements taken during the repeated-pass experiment?
Measurements are taken before the initial pass and before each subsequent pass, allowing the study to track how impacts accumulate over time.
Which measurements are specifically called out for the repeated-pass component?
The notice calls out soil bulk density, soil compaction, and soil water infiltration, using standard field methods.
How will soil biological communities be characterized?
The notice proposes combining traditional microscopy-based identification and counting with molecular approaches to capture both abundance and diversity in bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and microarthropods.
Why combine microscopy-based methods with molecular approaches?
The mixed-method approach is intended to strengthen inference because microscopy can provide direct organism counts and functional group information, while molecular tools can detect cryptic diversity and organisms that are difficult to identify visually.
What practical outcomes is the opportunity aiming for?
The opportunity is aimed at producing practical, management-relevant evidence about how restoration operations influence soil structure, water movement, and the soil food web across multiple forest types, to help managers weigh restoration benefits against potential soil impacts and refine practices to protect long-term ecosystem function.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, along with other eligible entities as clarified in the opportunity materials.
What are the key dates listed in the notice?
The posting and creation dates are June 10, 2016, and the application closing date is June 19, 2016.
What is the Funding Opportunity Number?
The Funding Opportunity Number is P16AS00232.
Is this described as a Notice of Intent?
Yes. The opportunity is explicitly described as a Notice of Intent.
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