Responses to this Request for Statements of Interest (RSOI) will be used to identify potential investigators for a project to be funded by the US Army Corps of Engineers (Wilmington District)-Sustainable Rivers Program. The work involves comprehensive support of researchers in studying relationships between river flows, floodplain inundation and floodplain vegetation, to aid in basin wide efforts that examine the effectiveness of water releases to achieve the desired ecological outcomes while all in accordance with 10 U.S.C. ยง 2358 - Research and Development.
Approximately $30,000.00 is expected to be available to support this project, for the base period. Additional funding may be available for follow on work in subsequent fiscal years to the successful recipient/awardee.
The lower Roanoke River has beautiful, 5-mile wide floodplains with some of the largest expanses of bottomland hardwoods on the east coast. In 2016, the Corps implemented a monumental operational change of Kerr Reservoir from 20k cfs releases to Quasi-Run-of-River (QRR) of 35k cfs when in flood stage. This change was in large part to enhance the health of the floodplain vegetation. TNC, USFWS, and academics finished analyzing extensive vegetation data along the Roanoke River. This includes five 4000m2 plots with every single tree tagged and measured, sampled in 2001, 2012, and 2017. Results show that the number of trees in the floodplain is decreasing for important species like Laurel Oak. The trees that are alive are growing, but they are growing more slowly in seasons with extensive water inundation. Simultaneously, the Corps has been creating a HEC-RAS 2-D model for several sections of the Roanoke, including the locations of the vegetation plots. This scope will combine hydraulic modeling, aerial imagery, groundwater data and vegetation data in the ecosystem function model to analyze the impacts of changing hydrology in the lower Roanoke River floodplains.
Deadline for Statements of Interest: 27 July, 2021
This funding opportunity is ONLY available for Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units under the Piedmont South Atlantic Coast, Chesapeake Watershed & Southern Appalachian Mountains CESUs.