Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Colorado Plateau CESU | G17AS00033

Opportunity Information: Apply for G17AS00033

The Department of the Interior, through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and its John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, released a discretionary research funding opportunity under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network, specifically the Colorado Plateau CESU. Issued as Funding Opportunity Number G17AS00033, the program uses a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument, which generally implies substantial involvement by USGS scientists or staff during the project (for example, collaboration on study design, synthesis activities, or jointly produced deliverables). The activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and the opportunity is associated with CFDA 15.808.

The project focus is on biological soil crusts (often called biocrusts), which are communities of organisms such as cyanobacteria, lichens, and mosses that live on the soil surface in many dryland environments. The main goal is to build a predictive framework that explains and forecasts biocrust function and how that function is likely to change under climate change. In practical terms, this means moving beyond simply describing biocrusts and instead producing an organized, predictive set of relationships that link climate variables and other drivers to biocrust performance and ecosystem outcomes. The broader purpose is to improve understanding of the functional consequences of global change in drylands, where even small shifts in temperature, precipitation timing, drought frequency, or disturbance regimes can have outsized impacts on soil stability, nutrient cycling, hydrology, and vegetation dynamics.

A central theme of the opportunity is synthesizing knowledge in a way that improves conceptualization of biocrust responses to both climate change and land use change. Land use change in drylands often includes disturbances like grazing pressure, off-highway vehicle use, energy development, recreation, and other surface disruptions that can damage crust structure, alter recovery trajectories, and interact with climate stressors. By explicitly considering both climate and land use drivers, the intended framework would help clarify when biocrusts are resilient, when they are vulnerable, what thresholds or tipping points may exist, and what outcomes managers should expect under different future scenarios. While the posted description is brief, a Powell Center project typically emphasizes analysis and synthesis, meaning the work may draw heavily on existing datasets, literature-based evidence, expert elicitation, and integrative modeling rather than exclusively funding new field campaigns.

The funding details indicate a modest, targeted award intended to support a single project: the anticipated number of awards is one, with an award ceiling of $50,000. The opportunity was created on February 6, 2017, with an original closing date of February 21, 2017, which suggests a short application window consistent with a focused synthesis project or a time-sensitive collaboration need. Eligibility is listed as “Others,” with clarification noted to be in an additional eligibility text field (not included in the excerpt), which is common for CESU opportunities where eligibility may be limited to participating CESU member institutions or otherwise specified partners.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as a small, collaborative USGS-supported research effort to produce a usable predictive framework for how biocrusts function and how they are expected to respond to changing climate and land use in dryland ecosystems, with the broader aim of improving scientific understanding and informing land management decisions in regions where biocrusts play a foundational ecological role.

• The Department of the Interior, Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Colorado Plateau CESU" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 06, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 21, 2017. (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 $50,000.00 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).

Apply for G17AS00033

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