Wetland facility for the University of Houston Coastal Center

University Of Houston, Houston TX

Investigators

Abstract

The project will construct a wetlands research facility, the University of Houston (UH) Wetland Observatory for Wildlife/Water research (UH WOW), at the University of Houston's existing field station, the University of Houston Coastal Center (UHCC). No wetlands research facility currently exists in this geographic area. Investigators are forced to work in tanks, which are too small for many questions, or in natural ponds, which are limited in number, vary in size and allow only a limited range of experimental manipulations. The proposed facility will address this research need by allowing replicated experiments at a large scale, and will expand the research capabilities of the UHCC in a wide range of disciplines, including ecology, water quality and flood control. The proposed facility will allow easy customization and control of the water level in each wetland, enabling researchers to test hypotheses under controlled conditions in open wetland environments, and spurring fundamental advances in understanding ecology, hydrology, and water quality. The proposed experimental wetlands will provide a unique facility that will benefit researchers from a variety of institutions in the Houston area (including UH, UH Downtown, UH Clear Lake, Rice University, Texas A&M Galveston), within a 3 hour drive (Texas A&M, Baylor, UT Austin), and over a broader geographic area. The facility will also improve undergraduate and graduate education at universities in the Houston metropolitan area, including those that lack major research infrastructure, such as UH Sugar Land and the University of St. Thomas. Graduate and undergraduate students will have increased opportunities to participate in research at the facility. Classes taking field trips to the UHCC will be able to view the wetlands and discuss experimental science and the ecological importance of wetlands. On occasions when some wetlands are not in use for research, they will be available for sampling by student groups conducting field activities. The benefits of improved undergraduate and graduate education at the UHCC will be particularly important for under-represented minorities. UH is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and the second most ethnically diverse major research university in the United States, and UH Downtown also has a very diverse student body. The facility will also improve public education by providing new opportunities to discuss experimental research, flood control, and the value of wetlands with K-12 and other public groups visiting the UH Coastal Center. The project will consist of an array of wetlands at the University of Houston Coastal Center (http://www.uhcc.uh.edu/). The wetlands will be excavated ~1.6 m below the soil surface at a site dominated by non-native grass and trees. A membrane will line the bottom of the ponds, which will be back filled with some of the excavated soil. The remaining excavated dirt will be used to form berms around the wetland edges. The wetlands will be individually plumbed and controlled with remotely-operated valves, allowing easy filling, draining, and control of water level. Because the water level will be adjustable, each wetland can be filled or drained to function as a pond, wetland or wet grassland as needed for different research projects. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.