Opportunity Information: Apply for E11AC60520
Apply for E11AC60520
- The National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "The role of tundra burning in carbon cycling radio carbon analysis of recent burns in the Noatak National Preserve, Alaska" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945 Cooperative Research and Training Programs Resources of the National Park System.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jun 21, 2011 and posted on Jun 21, 2011.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 28, 2011. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $44,650.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $44,650.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
- This is a Notice of Intent of a single source task agreement award to the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL under the Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit. The PI at the University of Illinois, Department of Plant Biology, has the expertise, graduate students, and facilities to conduct the work and analyses as described in the task items. The PI and his students have completed several projects to determine ages of past fires in tundra and boreal ecosystems in Alaska, utilizing carbon sampling of paleo lake core sediments. This research project expands into determining carbon ages of organic soil materials for emissions.
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Opportunity Summary:
The National Park Service announced a discretionary cooperative agreement opportunity focused on understanding how tundra fires in Alaska affect carbon cycling, specifically within Noatak National Preserve (NOAT). The project is rooted in the park fire management objective of allowing natural wildfire to support biodiversity while still protecting human life, property, and sensitive resources, as outlined in the Western Arctic Parklands Fire Management Plan (2009). A central concern behind this work is that tundra fires often burn down into thick organic soil layers (duff and peat-like material) that can contain very old, long-stored carbon. If that ancient carbon is combusted, it can be released to the atmosphere, which matters for both park resource management and broader climate and carbon accounting.
The main scientific goal is to determine the age of the organic matter that gets consumed during tundra fires. To do that, the project proposes radiocarbon (14C) analysis of charcoal and organic soil material associated with tundra burns that occurred in 2010 within NOAT. Radiocarbon dating can reveal whether the burned material is relatively recent (modern plant inputs) or much older carbon that has been locked in soils for centuries to millennia. The work is designed to answer two practical questions: first, what is the age range of the oldest organic soils that actually burned (which effectively indicates how old the carbon was that could have been emitted during those fires), and second, what does the age distribution look like in nearby unburned organic soils that might be vulnerable to combustion in future fire events.
Field sampling would be carried out across roughly three to four fire sites in Noatak National Preserve. At each fire, the team would collect six duff and soil monoliths, with four samples coming from burned areas and two from adjacent unburned reference areas. This burned-versus-unburned pairing is intended to help separate what was consumed by the fire from what remains on the landscape, and to provide a baseline for understanding what carbon pools could be mobilized if similar fires occur again. The anticipated outputs are radiocarbon ages that characterize both the oldest burned material and the broader spread of ages present in the organic soil profile, producing a clearer picture of how tundra fire might shift the carbon balance by tapping into older soil carbon reservoirs.
Administratively, this was published as Funding Opportunity Number E11AC60520 under a cooperative agreement instrument, in the Natural Resources activity category, with an expected single award. The total estimated funding and maximum award amount were listed as $44,650, with no cost sharing or matching requirement. The opportunity was posted June 21, 2011, and closed June 28, 2011, with an archive date of July 28, 2011. Eligibility was not broadly competitive because the announcement functioned as a Notice of Intent for a single-source task agreement award to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign through the Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit. The justification provided was that the principal investigator and team at UIUC (Department of Plant Biology) had the specialized expertise, graduate student capacity, and facilities needed to conduct radiocarbon analyses and interpret tundra and boreal fire histories, including prior Alaska work using carbon sampling from paleo lake core sediments. This project was described as an expansion of that experience toward directly dating organic soil materials relevant to fire emissions.
In short, the opportunity funded a targeted, field-and-lab study to quantify how old the carbon is that tundra fires can release in Noatak National Preserve, using radiocarbon dating of samples from recent burn scars and nearby unburned soils. The results were intended to improve understanding of tundra fire impacts on long-term carbon storage and to inform park-level fire and resource management decisions in a region where organic soils can hold substantial, potentially ancient carbon.
FAQs: National Park Service Cooperative Agreement Opportunity (E11AC60520)
What is this funding opportunity?
This is a National Park Service (NPS) discretionary cooperative agreement opportunity focused on understanding how tundra fires in Alaska affect carbon cycling, specifically within Noatak National Preserve (NOAT). It was published as Funding Opportunity Number (FON) E11AC60520 in the Natural Resources activity category.
What is the main purpose of the project?
The project aims to determine the age of the organic matter that gets consumed during tundra fires. The underlying management and scientific concern is that tundra fires can burn into thick organic soil layers (duff and peat-like material) that may store very old carbon. If that older carbon is combusted, it can be released to the atmosphere, affecting both park resource management and broader climate and carbon accounting.
Where will the work take place?
The work is focused on Noatak National Preserve (NOAT) in Alaska, using tundra burns that occurred in 2010 as the primary study fires.
Why are tundra fires a carbon concern in this project?
Tundra fires often burn downward into organic soil layers (duff and peat-like material). These layers can contain long-stored carbon, potentially centuries to millennia old. If fire consumes these layers, that stored carbon can be released to the atmosphere. This matters for understanding how tundra fire may shift carbon balance and for informing park-level fire and resource management decisions.
What is the main scientific goal described in the opportunity?
The main scientific goal is to determine the age of the organic matter that was consumed during tundra fires, using radiocarbon (14C) analysis of charcoal and organic soil material associated with 2010 tundra burns in NOAT.
What method will be used to determine the age of burned carbon?
The project proposes radiocarbon (14C) analysis (radiocarbon dating) of charcoal and organic soil materials. Radiocarbon dating is used to distinguish whether burned material is relatively recent (modern plant inputs) or much older carbon stored in soils for long periods.
What practical questions is the study designed to answer?
The study is designed to answer two practical questions:
- What is the age range of the oldest organic soils that actually burned (indicating how old the carbon was that could have been emitted during the 2010 fires)?
- What does the age distribution look like in nearby unburned organic soils that might be vulnerable to combustion in future fires?
What fire events are being studied?
The sampling and analyses are tied to tundra burns that occurred in 2010 within Noatak National Preserve.
How many sites will be sampled?
Field sampling would be carried out across roughly three to four fire sites in Noatak National Preserve.
What kinds of samples will be collected?
At each fire site, the team would collect duff and soil monoliths, and the project also proposes radiocarbon analysis of charcoal and organic soil material associated with tundra burns.
How many samples will be collected per fire site?
At each fire, the team would collect six duff and soil monoliths.
How will sampling compare burned and unburned areas?
Per fire site, four samples would come from burned areas and two samples would come from adjacent unburned reference areas. This pairing is intended to help separate what was consumed by fire from what remains, and to provide a baseline for understanding what carbon pools could be mobilized in future fires.
What outputs or results are expected from the project?
The anticipated outputs are radiocarbon ages that characterize:
- The oldest burned material (helping indicate how old the potentially emitted carbon was), and
- The broader spread (distribution) of ages present in the organic soil profile, including nearby unburned reference soils.
These results are intended to provide a clearer picture of how tundra fire might affect carbon balance by tapping older soil carbon reservoirs.
How does this relate to NPS fire management objectives?
The project is rooted in the park fire management objective of allowing natural wildfire to support biodiversity while still protecting human life, property, and sensitive resources. This objective is described as being outlined in the Western Arctic Parklands Fire Management Plan (2009).
What funding instrument is being used?
The opportunity uses a cooperative agreement instrument.
What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON)?
The Funding Opportunity Number is E11AC60520.
What is the estimated total funding and maximum award amount?
The total estimated funding and maximum award amount were listed as $44,650, with an expected single award.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No. The opportunity states there is no cost sharing or matching requirement.
How many awards were expected?
The opportunity listed an expected single award.
When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?
The opportunity was posted on June 21, 2011, and closed on June 28, 2011.
What is the archive date?
The archive date was July 28, 2011.
Who was eligible to receive this award?
Eligibility was not broadly competitive because the announcement functioned as a Notice of Intent for a single-source task agreement award to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) through the Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit.
Was this a competitive, open solicitation?
No. Based on the information provided, it was not broadly competitive. It was described as a Notice of Intent for a single-source task agreement award to UIUC via the Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit.
Why was the award described as single-source to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign?
The justification given is that the principal investigator and team at UIUC (Department of Plant Biology) had specialized expertise, graduate student capacity, and facilities needed to conduct radiocarbon analyses and interpret tundra and boreal fire histories. The description also notes prior Alaska work using carbon sampling from paleo lake core sediments, and frames this project as an expansion toward directly dating organic soil materials relevant to fire emissions.
What park resource management question does this support?
The work supports understanding how tundra fire affects long-term carbon storage in a region where organic soils can hold substantial, potentially ancient carbon, and it is intended to inform park-level fire and resource management decisions in Noatak National Preserve.
What is the core idea behind comparing burned sites to unburned reference soils?
By sampling both burned areas and adjacent unburned reference areas, the project aims to distinguish what carbon pools were consumed during the fire versus what remained. The unburned samples also represent carbon pools that could be vulnerable to combustion during future tundra fires.
What year of fire management planning is referenced?
The opportunity references the Western Arctic Parklands Fire Management Plan (2009).
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