| Show l Grant Grout Aids Aid's a Study Of Desert 5 Logan A major grant o of f which will make possible possible possible pos pos- sible a variety of research on i fit the ecology of desert areas of lob the western United States u through rough the Ecology Center atoR at oR Utah State University was announced announced an an- 1 Tuesday I 1 tr THE NATIONAL Science q r IJ Foundation grant funding the second year of research on t the ecosystems of arid lands in to the West through the Desert Biome Program was anIt announced an an- Lt It he Tuesday by Rep KlU K lU Gunn McKay Utah D-Utah se This is the second majori major i 1 ard grant for environmental eri studies at Utah State University Uni Uni- of within a month The Rockefeller Foundation awarded award award- ai ed for work etia eries emphasizing man in his enI environment environment en en- I v Dec 16 alb bri REP McKAY noted that 1 a NSF grant estabI established established I the Desert Biome study of of Utah State University as asbe asbe be part of the International Bio Bi- Bi Q o oat r Program in January who ho 1970 The new NSF grant provides pro pro- tily vides for continuation of ther the theren work r ren t Seventeen universities and he more than researchers re le twill will ill participate in m the ong ongoing ing I program pr to analyze various t effects of changes on desert I i 4 I lands and UTAH STATE University's 1 Ecology Center administrative and nd management headquarters I 1 for the Desert Biome program program pro- pro gram will be the destination Jail a Tor for data collected on plants plant s animals soils water chemistry chemistry chemistry chem chem- and temperature from a MS number of test sites In Logan Lo- Lo igan gang gan- the information will be 1 fed into a computer When sufficient data are fedaL fed uE aL into the fact bank questions ques ques- r r will be asked regarding ed t effects following changes in 1 climate plant cover or manh manIt man- man h It induced modifications The 3 computer will predict the effect ef- ef 0 feet on the site or will indicate indiCate indi- indi Cate that more data is needed lied rin in a particular area til ON THE particular validation validation valida valida- er tion site man will actually actual actual- ly manipulate the conditions to match those involved in 11 1 the computer problem Results will be recorded regularly to check the validity of the computer comPi computer com com- Pi puter answer r i g Ultimately the computer If Ut ui model will be able to answer t complex questions on what happens if certain conditions are induced on a particular r t t r h area J of f 9 desert s. s rt ian Them The he hei i m Tort forthcoming coming answer in m a matter matter matter mat- mat ter of minutes rather than lt r observation over five to ten ed years will mean improved ott management decisions made 1 without the trail and error Tf method applied to fragile slow recovering desert lands I making up so much of the west AMONG THE test locations locations loca- loca ions in the Desert B Biome Blame lame are the Curlew Valley stretching from Locomotive Springs in Northern Utah to the Curlew f National Grasslands in Idaho Y the Mohave Desert validation validation site in the southwestern corner corner corner cor- cor cor cor- ner of the Nevada Test Site I Saratoga Springs in Death I Valley National Monument and the Tucson Basin Validation Validation Validation Vali Vali- dation Site in Arizona Eft Efforts Efforts Ef Ef- t forts have been made to establish establish establish es es- validation sites which are representative of western desert types Sin Since e a wide variety of information must be acquired acquired acquired ac ac- from the literature and andfield field afield studies a major talent f search for research personnel personnel person- person Vil nel was undertaken RESPONSE FROM western institutions was high indicative indicative indicative indica indica- tive of interest in the analysis sis of ecosystems concept Universities participating inthe inthe in inthe the newly funded aspect of the Desert Biome program are Arizona State University I Northern Arizona University University of Arizona Ricks College University of Idaho University of Nevada New Mexico State University Texas Tech University Brigham Young University University of Utah and Utah State Uni Uni- ALMOST graduate students students students stu stu- stu- stu dents plus a number of undergraduates undergraduates undergraduates un un- from the above universities will assist with the important program According to Dr John M. M director of the Ecology Ecology Ecology ogy Center at scientists and educators are concerned with the problems of progress THE uTHE FUNDING of this program program program pro pro- gram by the National Science Foundation gives us some of the dollars needed to reverse the trend of problems with change The capacity to arrive at management decisions through the use of the computer compu compu- ter in the Desert Biome program program program pro pro- gram is highly important in a time when we are placing so many pressures on some of our most fragile land areas With access to prompt valid answers we avoid trial and error and become aware of changes that will occur without without without with with- out actually putting major land areas to test Dr said Biome Director D. D David Goodall of Utah State University University University Uni Uni- leads off a virtual Who's Who list of western researchers Dr Goodall an Australian did research in in plant physiology in West Africa ca in the mid lectured at atthe atthe the e University of Melbourne and the University of Gold Coast Ghana was a pr professor fessor fes- fes sor of agricultural botany at atthe atthe atthe the University of Reading then directed tobacco research at Queensland Australia HE WAS senior principal research scientist in the Division Division Division Divi Divi- sion of Mathematical Statistics in Perth and an Honorary Reader in Botany lecturing in plant ecology and biometrics at the University of Western Australia His career led to the University University University sity of California at Irvine where he was a professor of biological science in the Department Department Department De De- De- De of Population and Environmental Environmental Environmental En En- Biology then to Utah State University Logan where he is professor of Systems Systems Systems Ecology at the Ecology Center EQUALLY impressive are the varied backgrounds of the themore themore themore more than Ulan researchers who will will participate in the e studies this year The list of PhD Ph.D. participants includes soil biophysicists biophysicists biophysicists bi- bi entomologists hematologists ne- ne plant physiologists ornithologists chemists and mathematicians |
