Soils

Aquatic Ecology
The interdisciplinary scientific study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and their interactions with their aquatic environment (external abiotic and biotic factors). Ecology is a subdiscipline of Biology, which is the study of life. The most prevalent research topics in Aquatic Ecology here at AWAE include: Bark Beetle research, invasive species, restoration ecology, fire ecology, riparian environments and more.

Atmospheric Sciences

Atmospheric science is the study of the atmosphere - the blanket of air covering the Earth. Atmospheric scientists study the atmosphere's physical characteristics, motions, processes, and the way in which these factors affect the rest of our environment.

Biogeochemistry
Biogeochemistry is the scientific study of the processes and reactions (chemical, physical, geological, biological) which control the composition of the natural environment. It also looks at the cycles of matter and energy that transfer the Earth’s chemical components in time and space.

Climate Change

Climate Change refers to the gradual shift in earth's overall temperature and weather patterns through time. Alarming trends toward a rapidly warming climate have AWAE scientists researching the destructive effects of climate change on the Aquatic Environment. Such research involves stream temperature, wildland fires, thermal habitats, air quality and ozone to name a few.

Engineering
Engineering applies technical, scientific, and mathematical knowledge in using natural laws and physical resources to design and create materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes in order to accomplish a desired objective. Engineers within AWAE work with soil and water research, aquatic probability and prediction modelling, erosion control materials and other mitigation techniques, fire behavior models, etc.

Fire & Fuels
Wildland fires in the arid west create a cause for concern for many inhabitants and an area of interest for researchers. With AWAE, fundamental and applied research relates to atmospheric effects of fire on aquatic environments, and ecological adaptations to fire as well as the development of associated knowledge tools and applications for both scientists and managers in wildfire management.

Fisheries
RMRS Fisheries research looks at watershed processes and aquatic ecology to guide management of aquatic ecosystems and water/soil resources. Scientists develop knowledge of the biophysical conditions and processes that influence water quality and quantity, aquatic habitat quality, and the distribution, diversity, and persistence of fish and other aquatic species.

Geomorphology
Geomorphology is the science that deals with relief features of the earth or of another celestial body and looks towards describing and classifying such topographic characteristics. This interdisciplinary subject works within AWAE with such subjects as soil, climate change, road erosion, hydrology, engineering and more.

Hydrology
Hydrology is the scientific discipline concerned with the waters of the Earth, with their occurrence, distribution, and circulation by means of the hydrologic cycle and relations with living things. It also deals with the chemical and physical properties of water in all its phases. This field focuses greatly on snow hydrology, stream-riparian environments, soils, erosion, climate change, wildfire, geomorphology, etc.

Plant Physiology
Plant physiology is the study of internal plant activities including phytochemistry, environmental interactions, plant morphology, molecular and cell biology, and cellular interactions. Such AWAE research studies eco-physiology, fire effects, nutrition, plant regeneration and recovery, etc.

Soils, Sediment & Erosion
The study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to the use and management of soils. AWAE scientists study soil erosion: mitigation techniques, prediction and processes; fire and fuel effects, soil carbon decomposition rates and climate change, and more.

Spatial Analysis
Spatial Analysis involves the processing of multiple geographic themes to help understand new relationships among features on the landscape. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) are the primary disciplines that support Spatial Analysis. At AWAE, GIS and RS are used in numerous applications such as modeling sediment yield from roads, estimating soil erosion rates, predicting stream temperatures, and mapping aquatic habitat.

Water & Watershed Processes
A riparian area is the interface between land and a stream. Soil conservation occurs in these biodiversified aquatic ecosystems. They can flourish in grassland, woodland, wetland, or even non-vegetative zones. AWAE stream riparian research looks at water availability and quality, aquatic ecosystems; species distribution, diversity and persistence, aquatic resources in society, management and livestock grazing, fire effects, climate change and natural disturbances, dams/water diversions and more.

Road Impacts

Water Erosion Prediction

Erosion Risk Management

Fire Runoff & Gully Initiation

Soil & Water Tools

Wildland Fire Behavior

Fire Behavior & Growth

Fire Climatology & Occurrence Analysis

Fire Behavior Mapping

Fire Weather Website

Fire Modeling Institute

Analyzing Rating Judgments

Error Check Microsatellites

Insect & Disease Population

Bark Beetle Research

Habitat Suitability Index

Planning: Economic Analysis

Vegetation/Road Activities

Landscape Patterns & Processes simulation

Watershed Effects of Management Activities

River Bathymetry Toolkit

Stream Temperature

Soil & Water Tools

Stream Flow Metric Dataset

Soil, Water & Erosion

GRAIP- Quantifying and Prioritizing Road Impacts

Forest roads are the principle source of anthropogenic fine sediment entering streams on Forest Service lands.  How do we efficiently locate, quantify and prioritize these sediment sources for remediation?

Briefing Paper   |   GRAIP Website

WEPP: Water Erosion Prediction Project

FS WEPP is a set of interfaces designed to allow users to quickly evaluate erosion and sediment delivery potential from forest roads. The erosion rates and sediment delivery are predicted by the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model, using input values for forest conditions developed by scientists at the Rocky Mountain Research Station. WEPP Interfaces Home

ERMiT: Erosion Risk Management Tool

ERMiT allows users to predict the probability of a given amount of sediment delivery from the base of a hillslope following variable burns on forest, rangeland, and chaparral conditions in each of five years following wildfires.

ERMiT. Ermit Tool

FERGI estimates the probability of runoff generation amounts and gully initiation positions on hillslopes after fire and after mitigations, such as contour felled logs, are applied. It uses stochastically generated weather time series as inputs to determine the probability of particular outcomes. It reports return intervals for runoff generation rates and totals, how high up the hillslope gullies will initiate, and the changes that might be expected with treatment

To use the FERGI model, visit the FERGI model website.

Fire

BehavePlus, a software application to predict wildland fire behavior for fire management purposes, from the Fire Behavior group at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory.

FireFamily Plus, a software application combining the fire climatology and occurrence analysis capabilities of the PCFIRDAT, PCSEASON, FIRES, and CLIMATOLOGY programs into a single package, from the Fire Behavior group at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory.

FlamMap, a fire behavior mapping and analysis software application that computes potential fire behavior characteristics, from the Fire Behavior group at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory.

, supporting the RMRS Rocky Mountain Center development and deployment of real-time computer applications for fire-weather intelligence and smoke dispersion forecasts over the Western USA. Developed by the Natural Resource Assessment, Ecology, and Management Science Research group at the Rocky Mountain Research Station.

Resource Data & Analysis

, a software application for analyzing rating judgments, useful to practitioners needing to summarize or analyze rating data, and to researchers interested in comparing and evaluating alternative scaling methods. Available from the Identification and Valuation Of Wildland Resource Benefits group at the Rocky Mountain Research Station.

DROPOUT, a software application to error check microsatellite datasets for potential genotyping errors, from the Wildlife Habitats group at the Missoula Forestry Sciences Laboratory.

FINDIT, a software application for analyzing insect and disease population information taken during stand surveys, from the Logan Forestry Sciences Laboratory.

Resource Management & Use

, a geographical information system (GIS) model that estimates the ability of an area to meet the food and cover requirements of an animal species, from the Center for Great Plains Ecosystem Research group at the Rapid City Forestry Sciences Laboratory.

PLATA, a software application for doing economic analysis of a planning project, from the Economic Aspects of Forest Management on Public Lands group at the Missoula Forestry Sciences Laboratory.

MAGIS, a software spatial decision support system for scheduling a variety of vegetation treatments and road-related activities including construction, reconstruction, and obliteration. It is also available in an EXPRESS version, structured primarily as a timber harvest-road access tool. Available from the Economic Aspects of Forest Management on Public Lands group at the Missoula Forestry Sciences Laboratory.

SIMPPLLE, a software application designed to simulate patterns and processes at landscape scales from the Ecology and Management of Northern Rocky Mountain Forests group at the Missoula and Bozeman Forestry Sciences Laboratories.

Water & Air

Traditional techniques for describing and understanding aquatic physical habitat in streams have focused on manual measurements of channel topography. New remote sensing techniques, such as airborne water-penetrating Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and boat-mounted acoustic sensors can produce highly accurate Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) with continuous coverage of long segments of channels and stream networks. The US Forest Service and ESSA Technologies have developed a suite of GIS tools, the River Bathymetry Toolkit (RBT), for processing high resolution DEMs of channels. Our goal is to characterize in-stream and floodplain geomorphology to support aquatic habitat analyses and numerical models of flow and sediment transport. The (RBT) is available for free and is under active development.

-River Bathymetry Toolkit (RBT)

Stream Temperature Modeling and Monitoring

Designed to assist users to better organize and understand their temperature data as it pertains to broad-scale aquatic habitat issues, the stream temperature modeling and monitoring website contains information on collecting, processing, and archiving stream temperature data. Application of these data are highlighted in three research projects that provide a range of modeling alternatives and predictive accuracy. Each project has

Western US Stream Flow Metric Dataset - A dataset of modeled flow metrics for streams in major river basins of the Western US for historical and future climate change scenarios.