Opportunity Information: Apply for 2167009600
Apply for 2167009600
- The Region 2 in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Pyric herbivory" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.642 Challenge Cost Share.
- This funding opportunity was created on Aug 7, 2009 and posted on Aug 7, 2009.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 14, 2009. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $209,372.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $90,200.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Private institutions of higher education Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.
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Opportunity Summary:
The Pyric herbivory grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 2167009600) focused on improving grassland conservation and management by testing and refining the "pyric herbivory" concept introduced by Fuhlendorf and Engle (2001). The central idea is that fire and grazing should not be treated as separate forces acting independently on rangelands. Instead, they interact across space and time in ways that can intentionally produce a shifting patchwork, or mosaic, of heavily grazed and lightly grazed areas at different stages of recovery after fire. That shifting mosaic is viewed as important for maintaining diverse habitat structure and ecological function in fire- and grazing-dependent grasslands.
The opportunity emphasized that pyric herbivory is driven by feedback loops that can either reinforce or dampen disturbance. One key positive feedback is that recently burned patches often attract herbivores because new regrowth can be more palatable and nutritious, concentrating grazing in those burned areas and increasing the coupling between fire and herbivore site selection. A key negative feedback is that when animals focus grazing on burned patches, they reduce plant biomass and fuel loads there, which can lower both the probability of future fire and the potential intensity of fire in those same areas. While this framework is described as intuitive, the notice highlighted that land managers and researchers still lack strong empirical measurements of how strong these feedbacks are, how consistent they are over time, and what landscape-level patterns they create when multiple disturbance processes interact.
To address those gaps, the project proposed an approach that leaned heavily on GPS technology to track herbivore movements and habitat selection in relation to burn history, season, and vegetation patterns. By using GPS-based data, the work aimed to capture fine-scale animal decision-making while also connecting it to broader landscape patterns, allowing the researchers to quantify the mechanisms behind pyric herbivory and document how fire and grazing jointly generate spatial and temporal variability. The announcement also made clear that this variability is not just noise, but a defining feature of the system that can be beneficial for conservation when understood and managed correctly.
The grant laid out three main objectives. First, it sought to determine the strength of feedback mechanisms tied to herbivore selection following fires, essentially measuring how strongly and how long animals preferentially use burned patches. Second, it aimed to measure feedbacks affecting the probability and intensity of fire, focusing on how post-fire grazing changes fuel accumulation and therefore alters future fire behavior. Third, it planned to evaluate outcomes when pyric herbivory is applied in settings with multiple herbivore species, recognizing that different grazers may respond differently to burns and can collectively shape the mosaic in more complex ways.
A major theme of the funding notice was that traditional experimental designs may be limiting progress because they often emphasize uniform treatments and average responses rather than heterogeneity and patch dynamics. The opportunity argued for a different, heterogeneity-based experimental paradigm in which herbivores have access to a diverse landscape with patches that vary by season and time since fire. Under that paradigm, the landscape is expected to become increasingly complex as fire and grazing interact, so the project called for a multiscale approach that evaluates both landscape patterns and plot-level processes at the same time, with emphasis placed on disturbance feedbacks and shifting spatial structure rather than a single uniform treatment effect.
Administratively, this was a discretionary cooperative agreement in the environment category, with one expected award. The estimated total funding was $209,372, while the listed award ceiling and floor were both $90,200, and the opportunity required cost sharing or matching. Eligible applicants were limited to public/state-controlled and private institutions of higher education. The posting date was August 7, 2009, with an original and current closing date of August 14, 2009, and an archive date of September 13, 2009. The agency was listed as Region 2, and the contact provided was Ralph Godfrey, Fire Management Officer at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge (ralphgodfrey@fws.gov, 580-429-2116).
Pyric Herbivory Grant (Funding Opportunity Number 2167009600) - FAQs
1) What is this grant opportunity about?
This discretionary cooperative agreement supports work aimed at improving grassland conservation and management by testing and refining the "pyric herbivory" concept. The focus is on understanding how fire and grazing interact across space and time to create a shifting patchwork (mosaic) of heavily grazed and lightly grazed areas at different stages of recovery after fire, and why that mosaic can matter for habitat structure and ecological function in grasslands that depend on fire and grazing.
2) What is "pyric herbivory" in plain terms?
Pyric herbivory is the idea that fire and grazing should not be treated as separate forces on rangelands. Instead, they interact in ways that can be used intentionally to produce a dynamic landscape made up of different patches: some recently burned and heavily grazed, and others older and lightly grazed, each in different stages of recovery.
3) Who introduced the pyric herbivory concept referenced in the notice?
The notice cites Fuhlendorf and Engle (2001) as introducing the pyric herbivory concept.
4) Why does the grant emphasize a "shifting mosaic" of patches?
The shifting mosaic is described as important for maintaining diverse habitat structure and ecological function in fire- and grazing-dependent grasslands. In this framework, variability and patch dynamics are not treated as random noise; they are treated as a defining feature of the system that can be beneficial when understood and managed correctly.
5) What kinds of feedback loops does the opportunity highlight?
The opportunity highlights both positive and negative feedback loops that can either reinforce or dampen disturbance. A key positive feedback is that recently burned patches may attract herbivores because new regrowth can be more palatable and nutritious, concentrating grazing in those burned areas and increasing the coupling between fire and herbivore site selection. A key negative feedback is that concentrated grazing on burned patches can reduce plant biomass and fuel loads, lowering the probability of future fire and reducing potential fire intensity in those same areas.
6) What scientific gaps is this grant trying to address?
The notice states that managers and researchers still lack strong empirical measurements of: (a) how strong the fire-grazing feedbacks are, (b) how consistent they are over time, and (c) what landscape-level patterns they create when multiple disturbance processes interact.
7) How does the proposed project plan to measure herbivore responses to fire?
The approach described relies heavily on GPS technology to track herbivore movements and habitat selection relative to burn history, season, and vegetation patterns. The purpose is to capture fine-scale animal decision-making and connect it to broader landscape patterns.
8) Why is GPS tracking important for this work?
According to the notice, GPS-based data would allow researchers to quantify mechanisms behind pyric herbivory by linking where animals go (and how they choose habitat) to burn history and vegetation patterns, and by documenting how fire and grazing jointly generate spatial and temporal variability.
9) What are the three main objectives listed in the grant?
The notice lists three main objectives:
- Determine the strength of feedback mechanisms tied to herbivore selection following fires, including how strongly and how long animals preferentially use burned patches.
- Measure feedbacks affecting the probability and intensity of fire, focusing on how post-fire grazing changes fuel accumulation and thereby alters future fire behavior.
- Evaluate outcomes when pyric herbivory is applied in settings with multiple herbivore species, recognizing that different grazers may respond differently to burns and can shape the mosaic in more complex ways.
10) What does the grant mean by "feedback mechanisms tied to herbivore selection following fires"?
In this notice, that phrasing refers to quantifying whether herbivores preferentially use recently burned patches, how strong that preference is, and how long it lasts after a fire.
11) What does the grant mean by measuring feedbacks on fire probability and fire intensity?
It refers to measuring how grazing after a fire changes plant biomass and fuel accumulation, and how those changes affect the chance of future fires occurring and the potential intensity of those fires in the grazed areas.
12) Why does the opportunity mention multiple herbivore species?
The notice emphasizes that different grazers may respond differently to burns. When multiple herbivore species are present, their combined responses may produce a more complex patch mosaic than would occur with a single herbivore species.
13) What experimental approach does the funding notice encourage?
The opportunity argues that traditional experimental designs can be limiting because they often emphasize uniform treatments and average responses rather than heterogeneity and patch dynamics. It calls for a heterogeneity-based experimental paradigm where herbivores have access to a diverse landscape made up of patches that vary by season and time since fire.
14) What does "multiscale approach" mean in the context of this grant?
The notice calls for evaluating both landscape patterns and plot-level processes at the same time. In other words, the work should connect fine-scale mechanisms (such as animal decisions and local vegetation) to broader spatial patterns that emerge across the landscape as fire and grazing interact.
15) What is the funding mechanism for this opportunity?
The notice describes the award as a discretionary cooperative agreement in the environment category.
16) How many awards were expected?
The notice indicates one expected award.
17) What is the estimated total funding for the opportunity?
The estimated total funding listed is $209,372.
18) What are the award ceiling and award floor?
The listed award ceiling is $90,200 and the listed award floor is also $90,200.
19) Does this opportunity require cost sharing or matching?
Yes. The notice states that cost sharing or matching is required.
20) Who is eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants are limited to public/state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education.
21) What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON)?
The Funding Opportunity Number is 2167009600.
22) When was the opportunity posted?
The posting date listed is August 7, 2009.
23) What were the closing dates for applications?
The notice lists an original closing date of August 14, 2009, and a current closing date of August 14, 2009.
24) When was the opportunity archived?
The archive date listed is September 13, 2009.
25) Which agency/region is associated with this opportunity?
The agency is listed as Region 2.
26) Who is the contact person for this opportunity?
The contact provided is Ralph Godfrey, Fire Management Officer at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.
27) What contact information is provided in the notice?
Email: ralphgodfrey@fws.gov
Phone: 580-429-2116
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