UNLV biology professor Stan Smith will receive $1.8 million in research grant funds from the National Science Foundation for his research on global environmental change.
The research, funded by two grants from the NSF, is being conducted in collaboration with scientists from the Desert Research Institute and UNR.
In order to receive the grant funds, which are a three-year renewal of funds Smith received previously, Smith was required to enter a new competition and write a full proposal of the research.
"Receiving this grant is an honor, as the National Science Foundation is a highly competitive funding agency with high standards of research," said Raymond Alden, dean of UNLV's College of Sciences.
"Dr. Smith's project is of particular importance because, although it has a regional focus, it will help people throughout the world predict the impact of carbon dioxide change and its impact on desert and semi-arid ecosystems."
The first grant, totaling $1.3 million, will fund research at the Nevada Desert FACE (Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment) Facility, which is located at the Nevada Test Site. The research will examine the effects of elevated carbon dioxide levels on various properties of desert ecosystems, including plant growth and productivity, soil water balance, and the long-term cycling of nutrients.
The second grant, funded by the NSF-EPSCoR for $500,000, will establish a new experimental facility adjacent to the FACE facility. The effects of other projected climate change factors -- changes in rainfall patterns and addition of nutrients via increased windblown dust and air pollution -- will be examined on the same ecosystem properties that are being studied in the carbon dioxide experiment.
The results of this research will allow Nevada scientists to more accurately predict how the deserts of Southern Nevada may change as the global climate changes in the 21st century. It also will have important applied implications for the restoration of disturbed desert areas and in waste containment programs at the Nevada Test Site.
