Funding Wizard

Coastal wetlands are critical components of the coastal landscape, providing a number of important ecosystem services such as habitat, carbon sequestration, erosion control, and recreation and tourism. In recent years, the flood risk management services produced by coastal wetlands have been of interest to many coastal communities, and many new and ongoing coastal storm risk management studies are including coastal wetlands as components of the coastal storm risk management system. Additionally, wetland restoration activities are being integrated into navigational dredging operations, which will require understanding of the types and frequency of restoration actions required to maintain wetland function. Understanding wetland elevation dynamics and associated vegetation dynamics is critically important as wetland bathymetry and vegetation type and abundance are the two dominant factors that determine the ability of wetlands to attenuate waves and surge as well as provide other desired ecosystem services. However, questions remain as to the ability of coastal wetlands to sustain elevation and associated functions over USACE project lifecycles and what management actions to plan for to maintain coastal wetlands in the case natural processes are insufficient. USACE requires the ability to predict the response of coastal wetland elevation and vegetation changes in response to sea level rise, storms, restoration activities, and potential changes in system drivers over at least a 50 year project lifetime. Brief Description of Anticipated Work: The overall goal of this work is to incorporate coastal wetland accretion dynamics into an USACE process-based vegetation model currently being adapted for coastal wetland systems. Specific objectives of this work include: Determining critical processes included in existing accretion models to integrate with vegetation growth model and identification of coupling requirements for the models such as spatial scales and coupling time steps; Full integration of wetland accretion and vegetation models for one species; Incorporation of vegetation interspecies dynamics and competition to include the role of invasive species colonization and management on accretion processes; and Development of case studies and examples of applications of the integrated models in a project lifecycle context with a focus on sites in the southeastern US.

The US Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, (USACE) intends to enter into a cooperative agreement with a non-federal, nonprofit entity for the management and enhancement of natural resources and assistance in the water safety program at the Raystown Lake Project (RLP). The USACE anticipates an opportunity for two Conservation Interns. Activities include (1) wildlife management, threatened and endangered species monitoring, fisheries management, wildlife habitat enhancement, forest management, and boundary inspection/maintenance; and (2) activities in water safety promotion, updating bulletin boards; maintaining life jacket loaner stations; organizing special events; conducting interpretive programs and roving interpretation; writing news releases; possibly conducting media interviews (radio); promoting USACE safety campaigns; developing public service announcements and interacting with park visitors. This agreement is an opportunity to provide training and education opportunities for conservation interns (two-2) with fish and wildlife, forestry, or education studies backgrounds.

The US Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, (USACE) intends to enter into a cooperative agreement with a non-federal, nonprofit entity for intern opportunities in the management and enhancement of natural resources and assistance in the water safety program at the Raystown Lake Project. The Corps anticipates an opportunity for two Conservation Interns. Activities include (1) activities in wildlife management, threatened and endangered species monitoring, fisheries management, wildlife habitat enhancement, forest management, and boundary inspection/maintenance; and (2) activities in water safety promotion, updating bulletin boards; maintaining life jacket loaner stations; organizing events; conducting interpretive programs and roving interpretation; writing news releases; possibly conducting media interviews (radio); promoting USACE safety campaigns; developing public service announcements and interacting with park visitors. This agreement is an opportunity to provide training and education opportunities for conservation interns (two-2) with fish and wildlife, forestry, or education studies backgrounds.

The project will involve the following objectives in effort gather needed information to better understand flowering rush invasion in a leading-edge population. This information is needed to prevent and remediate flowering rush infestations in Lake Umatilla and Lake Celilo, and to contribute to the growing body of knowledge for flowering rush treatment and prevention available to land and water managers: 1. Assist John Day and The Dalles Ranger staff in conducting comprehensive aquatic invasive species surveys, focusing on flowering rush, throughout Lake Umatilla and Lake Celilo. All locations that favor potential establishment (slow-moving, shallow water) will be documented, even if flowering rush is not currently present. Site conditions (native plant community, disturbance regimes, abiotic conditions, etc) will be described in detail to provide a baseline assessment should the area become colonized in the future. This will help to better understand establishment methods and dynamics.2. Treat flowering rush infestations where feasible based on water depth – this may include careful hand pulling in shallow water/on shorelines or covering small infestations/single plants with weighted weed mats specifically designed for flowering rush. Continued research on effective manual treatment strategies is needed; for example, plant phenological stage and treatment timing may influence treatment efficacy. Other treatment methods may be proposed by the awarded partner and investigated for efficacy.3. Provide treatment recommendations and control strategies for other aquatic invasive plants identified during the surveys. Currently, the focus is on flowering rush, but other aquatic plants may also be targeted for control. Other invasive aquatic plants in the region include Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) and curly-leaf pondweed (Potamogeton crispus) among others. Abundance of these other invasive species is not well understood near Corps-managed recreation areas in Lake Umatilla and Lake Celilo. This information, and proposed control strategies, would allow for greater preparedness in reducing nonnative species populations in the region.4. Document all existing infestation locations, potential future locations based on flow rate and model, and treatment methodologies employed through a final report and provide this to John Day/The Dalles Ranger staff and partners in the Flowering Rush Working Group.

Background:The United States Army Corps of Engineers operates and maintains more than 80 flood risk management (FRM) reservoirs within the Ohio River Basin. While the primary purpose of these projects is to prevent flood damages, in the course of normal operation these projects make regular releases that augment the flow of downstream rivers and provide ancillary benefits to adjacent communities and transient users. Because of this augmentation, at certain times the flows on the Ohio River are actually higher than would have occurred naturally. These higher flows possibly provide benefits in the form of reduced treatment costs for dischargers, more hours of hydropower generation, fewer navigation delays, a more reliable water supply and other benefits that are not currently understood or captured.This effort seeks to identify and, when practicable, monetize ancillary benefits resulting from augmented flows associated with releases from multi-purpose reservoir projects. Its focus will be on the impacts and benefits associated with projects operating within the borders of the Ohio River Basin on flows and benefits located along the mainstem of the Ohio River. However, the methodologies identified should be generally applicable to augmented flows from reservoirs across the United States.At a minimum, benefits to municipal wastewater treatment plants and to water supply will be examined. Additional consideration of benefits to other industrial dischargers, navigation, hydropower and recreation are a plus, as is some discussion and consideration of the overall impacts of climate change on the benefit potential in the future. Brief description of Anticipated Work:The proposed project will describe how much of an influence the reservoir releases are having on the flows in the mainstem Ohio River and whether those increased flows are providing an economic benefit. This effort will involve the gathering of existing flow information, data reconciliation (developing processes for the filling of data gaps) and comparing observed flows and natural flows for each Ohio River mainstem lock and dam over the period of 1990 to present. This comparison will include a reporting of commonly used flow statistics which will serve as the basis for the economic analysis. The economic analysis will determine whether or not the difference between observed and natural flows is significant enough to result in positive benefits to wastewater treatment plants, water supplies and other river users. The overall effort should result in the development of repeatable analytical processes that can be applied to other reservoir influenced riverine systems across the United States. The results of the study will be presented in the form of a final report and the development of manuscripts for peer review should also be considered as appropriate.

Background: The government seeks research and technical support for the development and demonstration of molecular tools to assess at-risk species occurrence, genomics, and disease risk on military installations from which samples were collected (Fort McCoy, WI, and Camp Grayling, MI). Exact analyses conducted and the need for additional sample collection will be decided based upon input from installation, ERDC-CERL, and CESU partners. It is anticipated that results from these analyses will be relevant for management throughout the focal species ranges. Details of primary tasks are as follows: Task 1: DNA metabarcoding to assess freshwater aquatic communities Fort McCoy, WI comprises 4,400 acres of wetlands (NRCT, 2015) that harbor diverse communities, including a number of at-risk species such as wood turtle, Glyptemys insculpta, Blanding’s turtle, Emydoidea blandingii, and four amphibian species considered to be either state endangered (i.e., Blanchard’s cricket frog, Acris blanchardi) or species of special concern (i.e., the four-toed salamander, Hemidactylium scutatum; the pickerel frog, Lithobates palustris; and the northern leopard frog, Lithobates pipiens). In addition, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources currently regulates 99 aquatic invasive species (64 animals and 35 plants) that pose a risk to Fort McCoy’s freshwater ecosystems. Understanding where these at-risk and invasive species occur across the installation is a first step in determining effective management strategies. Ponds, ephemeral pools, and streams throughout Fort McCoy will be sampled at three time periods (spring, summer, and fall) during 2022. Specific sampling locations and timing will be determined in consultation with CERL and Fort McCoy Natural Resources Branch staff, based on the natural history of focal species, historical records, and availability of suitable habitat. Sampling estimates include 10 – 30 locations per sampling period with three replicate water samples collected in 1-liter bottles at each location and stored on ice. Sampling effort will include a 1-liter bottle of molecular-grade water at each site to serve as a control. Water samples will be filtered using a vacuum pump through 0.80 μm cellulose nitrate filter. Filters will be stored in vials of cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) buffer until DNA extraction. DNA will be extracted from sample filters using a modified phenol–chloroform–isoamyl alcohol extraction (Renshaw et al., 2015)— a commonly used method to isolate DNA from substrates containing high levels of PCR inhibitors (e.g., humic substances), which can inhibit downstream applications (Alaeddini, 2012; Turner et al., 2014; Eichmiller et al., 2015). Extracted DNA will be quantified via Qubit fluorometry before generating community metabarcode data via a multi-primer/locus approach (e.g., Evans et al., 2015; Corse et al., 2019). Vertebrate, plant and invertebrate primer sets will be used to generate sequence reads for each eDNA sample collected. Task 2: DNA analyses of bacterial pathogens of ticks to assess disease risk. Ticks are renowned as vectors of disease-causing agents to humans and responsible for nearly 95% of vector-borne diseases in the United States (Eisen et al. 2017). In particular, Lyme disease, caused by the spirochete pathogen, Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., can result in devastating human health consequences. Soldiers involved in training exercises, as well as installation natural resources personnel, can be particularly at risk due to their increased contact with vectors encountered on military ranges (Garcia et al. 2017). Tick species will be sampled on Fort McCoy, WI, via cloth dragging and CO2 trap cloths. Sample sites will be determined based on habitat suitability for tick species and input from CERL and Fort McCoy personnel. At each site, five standard 150-m transects will be established in suitable tick habitat (e.g., leaf litter or grass present in deciduous/mixed forest or ecotonal edge between forest and grassland with evidence of animal activity). These transects will be revisited seasonally (spring, summer, fall) with specific timing dependent on weather and access. A subsample of 50 ticks will be included in pathogen analyses. Pathogen diagnostics will be performed via DNA extraction and amplification using standard RT-PCR methods in a BSL-2/ACL-3 lab. Ixodes scapularis samples will be tested using a CDC screening algorithm for Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia microti, Borrelia burgdorferi s.s., Borrelia miyamotoi, and Ehrlichia muris euclairensis. Task 3: DNA metabarcoding to identify plant-pollinator interactions. Pollinator biomonitoring is critical to both assess the status and trend of at-risk pollinators and evaluate the impacts of biodiversity loss on ecosystem services. Fort McCoy, WI, houses two federally endangered pollinators, the Karner Blue butterfly (Lycaedis melissa samuelis) and the Rusty Patched Bumblebee (Bombus afinis). Fort McCoy is also home to several other pollinator species of conservation concern including the Ottoe Skipper (Hesperia ottoe; state endangered), Regal Fritillary (Speyeria idalia; state endangered), Frosted Elfin butterfly (Callophrys irus; state threatened), Dusted Skipper (Atrytonopsis hianna; special concern) and Leonard’s Skipper (Hesperia leonardus; special concern). Rapid, efficient, and accurate assessment of pollinator communities is a conservation imperative to inform adaptive management strategies and stanch the loss of this critical component of biodiversity. For this task, traditional pollinator survey methods will be compared to eDNA metabarcoding of flowers to assess effectiveness of eDNA metabarcoding for surveying for at-risk pollinator species and identifying plant-pollinator interactions. Initial focus will be on two pollinator species that are petitioned for federal listing under the Endangered Species Act, the Frosted Elfin and the Regal Fritillary. Traditional surveys will be conducted for both species at Fort McCoy, WI. Survey plots will be determined in collaboration with CERL and Fort McCoy personnel and based on presence of host plants, previous survey efforts, and access. Plot size will vary based on abundance and distribution of host plants. Within plots, surveys will be conducted both via random walk, focusing on presence of host plants, and via fixed 110 x 10 m transects. Surveys will be conducted throughout the active flight period (approximately April–June) with each plot and transect surveyed at least three times. Each transect walkthrough will occur at a steady pace, start/stop times recorded, and host plant and pollinator species observations tallied. Weather conditions and other environmental data at each patch will be measured and documented prior to counts. Counts will only be conducted if weather is within the range of optimal conditions as specified by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2019). If no (or few) butterflies are detected during walkthrough, eggs, larvae, and evidence of larval activity on host plants (e.g., feeding damage) will be documented. To assess effectiveness of eDNA metabarcoding for assessing pollinators, target flowers will be randomly chosen within survey areas (above). Target flowers will be identified to species, collected, and preserved in ATL buffer. Trace pollinator eDNA left on the flowers will be extracted using a modified Qiagen DNeasy protocol. Extracted eDNA from flowers will then be subjected to metabarcoding. Once PCR and library preparation have been completed, samples will be submitted to the UIUC Keck Core Sequencing Facility for sequencing on Illumina Platforms. Illumina data will be converted from raw sequences to taxonomic assignments using a custom pipeline for reproducible analysis of metabarcoding data: metaBEAT v0.97.78. Using these data, species will be catalogued via conventional observations as well as eDNA metabarcoding. Task 4: Genomic analyses for at-risk bats (Myotis spp.). Several species of bat across the US have experienced drastic declines since 2006, primarily as a result of disease (white-nose syndrome, WNS), with some species reduced by over of 90% of their pre-WNS numbers. Where populations persist, survivors may provide clues to disease resistance, with recent research finding genetic differences between bats killed by white-nose-syndrome and those that survived (Gignoux-Wolfsohn et al. 2021). At-risk bats (Myotis sp.) will be sampled at Camp Grayling, MI, and tissue samples collected via wing biopsy punch for genomic analysis. Data for at-risk bats are particularly lacking for the northern Midwest region. These data will help fill that gap and enable comparison to studies from other regions for range-wide assessment. Work accomplished under this task will include sample collection, laboratory analyses, and summarization. Data will be used to populate reports to military installations regarding the statuses of at-risk species on their properties.

Background: Understanding how Global Positioning System (GPS) signals are influenced by vegetation structure allows for the determination of how specific technologies might be affected in certain forested environments. The work we are seeking shall involve creating detailed vegetation structure models and assessment of GPS coverage to support assured position, navigation, timing (APNT) activities and tests in forested and mixed topographic relief areas. Brief Description of Anticipated Work: Provide detailed vegetation data analysis for assessment of loss and degraded GPS signals which could include canopy structure, speciation, and dimensionality. Applicant would create and supply these data prior to APNT field tests and would provide technical assistance in analyzing vegetation during tests. 2) Provide field base of operations for position, navigation, and timing experiments including outdoor space, laboratory space (computer, wet, dry), wooded and non-wooded terrain drives, and collaboration space. Facilities must have high speed internet and availability for web conferencing. Local geodetic control monuments to aid in measurements and terrain input for maneuvers are required. 3) Provide access to spatial data including current and detailed aerial imagery and other field systems (web based), to assist in identifying and “pre-delineate” areas that would not be suitable for navigation experiments. 4) Acquire and provide access to on-site real-time data for experiments including, continually operated reference sites/real-time kinematic (CORS/RTK) GPS and real-time meteorological data with known geodetic control. 5) Provide access to dormitory facilities for use in multiday experiments. 6) Provide vessel support and crew for testing sensors for aquatic navigation

Background: Locally-available wood offers attractive environmental benefits when used in bank stabilization. However, engineers in much of the country are uneasy using wood in bank protection designs due to lack of standard design tools based on scientifically sound information. The Engineering With Nature program has funded the development of a software update in the USACE river analysis software HEC-RAS to facilitate design and analysis of large wood in rivers. This update will plug into existing work flows and utilize familiar software for bank stabilization design and will greatly facilitate the consideration of natural wood by many more river engineers. Major Tasks Are To: (1) Identify data gaps of using large wood design for rivers and provide potential methods for addressing gaps. The CESU non-federal partner will be tasked with reaching out to appropriate agency, university, and private experts. Part of this task will be to host a 1-day interagency meeting with invited experts. The venue itself will be provided by USACE or a partner agency free of charge. It is expected that information on state of the knowledge will be presented as launching points for discussion.(2) Using information gathered from Task 1, research how to calculate driving and resisting forces on large wood in rivers. Information on best materials and practices shall be reported as well as environmental variables that impact the use of large wood in rivers. A large part of this task will be to code stand alone software to be integrated into the USACE HEC-RAS software. Requirements of the software is that it must read from the 1D hydraulic model output files in order to compute driving forces, resisting forces, and factors of safety. The software application must provide simple visualizations in cross section and plan view. It must also read from tables of wood properties which will be provided by USACE. Data will flow one way, from HEC-RAS to the application. It is not required to write information back to RAS or include options within existing tools or displays. it is to be written using WinUI, utilizing Xamel islands in WinUI to use CSIchart. Close coordination with the USACE Hydrologic Engineering Center is required, and prior experience reading HEC-RAS output is strongly desired, so the final tool can be seamlessly incorporated into RAS. In addition, the successful Recipient is to document ways the tool could be enhanced in the future for use with RAS2D.a. Note: USACE will select the equations to be coded based on feedback at the interagency meeting described above and will provide worked-out spreadsheet examples. The Recipient is not responsible to make the selection.(3) Provide a literature review and short scoping document on ways to automate high-level geomorphic assessments sufficient for deriving channel velocity and bank height. Previous experience automatically computing geomorphic values over large regions is strongly desired.(4) (Option for outyears) Develop and maintain an online platform to facilitate landowners in applying new bank stabilization methods, locating headcut locations within large watersheds, and generating stream centerlines and other enhancements to enable cross section analysis. Public Benefit: HEC-RAS is the most commonly used river analysis and design software in the world—standalone software applications added to HEC-RAS find quick adoption and use by the Public. The wood calculator will allow engineers to compute force and moment balances and factors of safety. By facilitating these computations, engineers will be more able to determine when additional anchoring is needed or when such features should not be implemented at all due to excessive hydraulic forces. This will increase the reliability and robustness of large wood designs, which should both reduce project failures and make engineers more comfortable to include wood features in bank stabilization and other projects.

Background:There are hundreds of reservoirs and thousands of miles of navigation channels that provide invaluable flood control, commercial transport of materials, water supply, recreation, and stream flow regulation. This navigation and flood control infrastructure protects millions of Americans who work and live beside these control structures. This protection of life and property is threatened by large-scale wildfires across the western United States” (Haring, et al. 2021). In 2021, 58,968 wildfires impacted 7.1 million acres and burned nearly 6,000 structures nationwide, 60% (3,577) of which were residences (USGS website). Also, in January 2018, directly following the nearby Thomas Fire, a storm struck Montecito, California, resulting in several landslides that killed 23 people. Wildfires damage watersheds by denuding landscapes, reducing infiltration rates, and increasing runoff rates. “Immediately following a wildfire, [the ground is void of] vegetation, the organic soil horizons are reduced to ash, and the soil remaining is altered such that it repels [instead of absorbs] rainwater. These effects dramatically increase the potential for erosion, which destabilizes stream channels, and increases infilling of reservoirs thus reducing their capacity. Together these adverse ground conditions significantly increase runoff, discharge, sediment transport, and subsequently increase the risks of flash flooding and destructive debris flows, as described above.” (Haring, et al 2021). As the climate has changed, fire seasons around the world have grown longer. According to Wibbenmeyer and McDarris (2020), the period from 2000-2018 was the driest 19-year span that southwestern North America has experienced since the late 1500s, and the second driest since 800 CE. These trends will only increase the likelihood of more wildfires and subsequent increased risks to our nation’s environment and flood protection infrastructure. The primary technical objective of this project is to provide a sustainable, nature-based and cost effective soil treatment technology for improving the mechanical properties of wildfire-altered soils, to decrease erosion. The treatment of interest is Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP). Microbial-induced calcite precipitation (MICP) is a relatively new process that uses naturally occurring bacteria to bind soil particles together through calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitation. MICP is a biologically driven precipitation technology that is sustainable, does not introduce contaminants into the soil, and is not a high-energy process. The MICP treatment is a relatively new technique used by geotechnical engineers for ground improvement (strength) of sandy soils, like those in the western regions of the US.In theory, this method would also lessen the drying effects of drought on soils. The treatment increases water content of the soil, which deters erosion, slows runoff, and flash flooding. Brief Description of Anticipated Work: Determine the efficacy of MICP to improve engineering properties of soils affected by wildfires through conventional laboratory soil testing and through field demonstrations. To accomplish this, the following is anticipated: Literature review on MICP and effect of wildfires on soils. This research, performed only by the ERDC, will provide the basis for identifying the best type of soils and soil conditions for MICP treatment as well as defining the effects of wildfire on soils. Information will be acquired through discussion with USACE Districts that commonly experience wildfires in their regional area of jurisdiction. The activities discussed below will be undertaken by the contractor, with guidance and consideration by ERDC Principal Investigator. Activity 1: Identify the source(s) for soil sampling and testing. The contractor will consider ERDC’s findings from the literature research and start communication with ERDC and USACE Districts in the arid southwestern States and determine which wildfire affected site(s) will be researched. Government offices such as the Sacramento District, and Albuquerque District where wildfire clean up and forest restoration activities are common are the likely regions for conducting this research. Research locations will be determined based upon quantity and availability of site data and government experience (NRCS, USGS, USACE) in the regions. Activity 2: Acquire soil samples/travel. This activity will involve Government and University personnel acquiring soil samples from wildfire-affected areas discovered in Activity 2. Soil samples will be shipped to ERDC and University soil laboratories. The volume collected will be approximately of nine 5-gallon buckets. Activity 3: Soil index properties testing and microscopic mineral identification. The soil collected will be tested for their index properties including: sieve analysis, specific gravity, organic content, triaxial and direct shear strength. The soil property testing requires standard equipment and must follow typical ASTM procedures. Activity 4: Optimize MICP treatment. The duration and frequency of treatment as well as the concentration of the bacteria and type of nutrients to grow the bacteria will be determined in the lab. This activity requires a bio-engineering specialist. Activity 5: Treat and test soil samples. Testing of treated soils will be performed by a civil engineering graduate student and supervised by a geotechnical faculty. Microscopic mineral identification will be performed by a junior ERDC engineer and supervised by the PI. Lab testing will include shear strength (direct and triaxial) infiltration properties, erodibility properties. The testing requires standard equipment and must follow ASTM procedures. Tests conducted in triplicates will ensure repeatability. Results and analyses will be documented in a data report or a technical paper. Activity 6: Field demonstration. Select one site of the sampled wildfire sites that is most suitable to demonstrate the treatment application and protocol through a number of field tests including infiltration, erodibility and plate load. ERDC and university team members will coordinate testing plans and on wildfire exposed and un-exposed (control) sections of the site. The duration of treatment and field testing will be determined after the above field tests have taken place. This activity involves travel to the site, application tools, media and bacteria strain. Field activities, test results, and analyses will be documented in a data report and/or a technical paper. Public Benefit: Engineering with Nature research program, is the intentional alignment of natural and engineering processes to efficiently and sustainably deliver economic, environmental, and social benefits that improve public’s quality of life through community collaboration. This project will investigate the implementation of a sustainable, economic and eco‐friendly treatment for mitigating post‐fire effects on the natural environment and communities downstream of wildfires. If successful, MICP treatment has potential to decrease the threat of flash flooding and debris flows that threaten communities and USACE flood protection projects downstream of wildfires. This project will involve a previous EWN research effort in the Santa Clara Pueblo in northern New Mexico. These are native American lands where engineering solutions to environmental problems should be consistent with the Native American culture.

This research project focuses on quantifying basic forest stand metrics through the application of ML to remotely sensed data. The project will leverage global data to develop understanding of forest growth and successional conditions at a local level. Numerous environmental variables and forest inventory data must be incorporated to train ML algorithms on high performance computing systems (HPCs) to achieve resolutions that lead to understanding of carbon stores at a local level (e.g., a single DOD installation). Knowing that understanding dominant forest habitat type and forest volume (as calculated from tree height, diameter, and density) will yield significant understanding to forest carbon storage, the purpose of this work is to demonstrate that basic forest inventory metrics (e.g., tree diameter and density) may be effectively quantified from ML. The Government is not expecting the periods of performances to overlap. Objectives: The objectives of the project for the initial year are as follows:1. Develop technical team and identify initial study area(s) of interest.2. Develop and test a proof of concept outlining novel methods to quantify basic forest stand metrics.3. Compile a repository of forest inventory data from national and international partners. 4. Validate accuracy of resulting, prototype forest stand metrics. The objectives of the project for Optional Year 1 are as follows:1. Expand the study area(s) and refine the prototype novel methods (developed during initial year) to quantify basic forest stand metrics.2. If required, expand the repository of forest inventory data from national and international partners to cover the second year’s study area.3. Validate accuracy of resulting, large area forest stand metrics by prioritized areas of interest. 4. Generate peer-reviewed journal article with ERDC researchers to describe the application of novel methodologies to quantify basic forest stand metrics developed during initial year of the project. The objectives of the project for Optional Year 2 are as follows:1. Conduct a final accuracy assessment and if required, refine the established methods to increase basic forest stand metric accuracy.2. Generate a peer-reviewed journal article(s) in conjunction with ERDC researchers integrating all study conclusions.3. Develop and present public seminars based on study findings. Successful applicants should have expert knowledge of: 1) forestry, natural resources, and carbon storage; 2) field data collection capabilities; 3) compiling national and global forest inventory databases; 4) experience developing novel approaches to machine learning of forest characteristics. Areas of expertise that may be required in combination to perform this study include:1) Capacity to collect and/or compile forest inventory data at up to global scales.2) Advanced computing capabilities for ML applications to characterize forest metrics.3) Development of novel ML approaches to improve forest inventory, forest characterization, and/or forest carbon storage research with local and global applications.