Impact of Forest restoration activities on soil compaction and soil biological communities | P17AS00485

Opportunity Information: Apply for P17AS00485

The grant opportunity titled "Impact of Forest restoration activities on soil compaction and soil biological communities" (Funding Opportunity Number P17AS00485) is a National Park Service (Department of the Interior) cooperative agreement focused on understanding how forest restoration actions affect soils, both physically and biologically. The project sits within the Natural Resources funding activity category (CFDA 15.945) and was designed to support research and monitoring work on a National Park Service Preserve. The eligible applicants are limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, and the opportunity was originally posted on July 11, 2017 with an original closing date of July 20, 2017. The award ceiling listed for the effort is $99,943, with one award expected.

The core purpose of the modification described in the opportunity is to extend the timeline of an existing project and broaden its scope. Specifically, the project end date is extended from December 31, 2018 to December 31, 2021. This extension is meant to keep research and monitoring going on the Preserve rather than ending the work on the original schedule, which is common for field-based ecological studies where multi-year follow-up is important for capturing slower or variable environmental responses.

In terms of work content, the original study centered on restoration treatments that involve thinning forest stands and then measuring resulting changes in soil compaction and soil biological communities. The description indicates that the pre-thinning sampling has already been completed and that post-thinning sampling is proceeding on schedule according to the original statement of work. In other words, the foundational before-and-after monitoring design remains intact, and the project is continuing to collect the "after treatment" data needed to compare against baseline conditions.

What changes with the modified statement of work is an added emphasis on prescribed fire as an additional disturbance layered onto the thinning treatments. The new component specifically targets the impacts of burning within the thinning treatment areas that were already the focus of the initial phase. This means the study is not starting over in new locations; it is building on established treatment sites and sampling plans, then adding a fire-related research question that is directly relevant to how forest restoration is often implemented on public lands (thinning followed by prescribed burning to reduce fuels and restore more natural fire regimes).

The added research is described in two connected parts. First, it will incorporate prescribed fire effects on soil biota in the post-thinned forest. That points to a biological monitoring focus on organisms living in or closely associated with the soil (soil biota), which can include microbial communities such as bacteria and fungi as well as small soil fauna depending on the methods being used. The aim here is to understand how prescribed burning, after thinning has occurred, changes the living component of the soil system and potentially how those changes interact with or differ from the effects of thinning alone. Second, the modification adds attention to the role of mosses in stabilizing post-fire soils. This suggests the project will examine whether moss cover helps protect soils after burning, potentially by reducing erosion risk, helping maintain surface structure, or influencing moisture retention and recolonization processes following fire. In practical terms, this addition recognizes that post-fire soil stability is a major management concern, and non-vascular ground cover like mosses can play an outsized role in protecting exposed soil surfaces in certain forest types.

Administratively, the notice clarifies that this extension and scope adjustment were anticipated in the original agreement. The intent for the modification was specified under the continuation clause in the original Task Agreement (Article VI, Part A), which signals that the agreement was structured from the beginning to allow continued work beyond the initial period if conditions and needs warranted it. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a continuation and expansion of an ongoing NPS-supported research effort: it keeps the long-term monitoring intact, extends the project period to capture additional post-treatment outcomes, and adds a prescribed-fire and post-fire soil stabilization angle that aligns with real-world restoration practices on Park Service lands.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Impact of Forest restoration activities on soil compaction and soil biological communities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 11, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 20, 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 $99,943.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

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