Awards and Recognition

Christina Hargiss, Phd Candidate in the Natural Resources Management Program in the School of Natural Resource Sciences at North Dakota State University, was awarded 1st place in the graduate student oral paper competition at the Society for Range Management’s 62 nd annual meeting held in Albuquerque, New Mexico on February 8-12, 2009. Ms. Hargiss’s paper was entitled: Three Tiered Wetland Condition Assessment Using a Probabilistic Design. She competed among 12 students from the USA and Canada presenting papers on their research. She will be awarded $200 generously provided by Dow AgroSciences. The abstract of Christina’s entry follows:

Wetland Condition Assessment of the Missouri Coteau using a Probabilistic Design Christina L.M. Hargiss, Edward S. DeKeyser, Donald R. Kirby, and Michael J. Ell

We assessed wetland condition based on plant community integrity in a designated area of the Missouri Coteau in central North Dakota using a probabilistic sampling design. Four sampling models were applied to wetlands in the study area: 1) Level 1 - geographic information system-based Landscape Wetland Condition Analysis Model (LWCAM); 2) Level 2 - North Dakota Rapid Assessment Method (NDRAM); 3) Level 3 - vegetative-based Index of Plant Community Integrity (IPCI); and 4) the Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) model. Results from testing approximately 975 wetlands using the four sampling procedures found a variety of land uses and vegetation characteristics were present in the study area. Results from the IPCI were compared to those found using the NDRAM, HGM, and LWCAM Models. The NDRAM and LWCAM differed in precision in determining wetland condition when compared to the IPCI. Wetlands were rated as higher functioning with the HGM model as compared to the IPCI. To determine the overall condition of the area, results of the Models’ were considered individually and correlated. Our results showed that wetland condition was based on land use, while topography was the main factor affecting land use and consequent wetland condition. Repeat assessment of this study area can indicate the trend of wetland plant community integrity in relation to the present and future predominant land practices.Information from this study can also be used to estimate wetland condition across other areas of the Missouri Coteau and can be used as a model for determining appropriate wetland sampling methods for other areas of the Prairie Pothole Region.

Mario Biondini, professor in the School of Natural Resource Sciences, has developed a three-dimensional model that helps determine how much water plant root systems will absorb. He has been invited to give a presentation and lead a discussion on this research at the Council of Scientific Society Presidents national meeting on Dec. 7, in Washington, D.C. The title of his talk is “Why are Plant Roots Designed the Way They Are?”

Biondini’s research offers additional insights on more accurately predicting how much water plants absorb through their root systems. His research improves upon what is known as the West, Brown, and Enquist (WBE) model for scaling laws in biological networks. The model predicts how closed systems will uptake water. Although it is useful to evaluate closed systems, the model does not offer an optimum way to predict water uptake in open systems such as plant root systems.

In his research, Biondini used data from 1,759 plants in 77 herbaceous plant species to test his model. Such modeling includes taking into account the resistance to water flow inside the root system (longitudinal flow), as well as the water coming into the root system (transversal flow). An accurate model such as the one developed by Biondini provides an important tool for consideration in sustainable agricultural practices. The model 3DMIPS is used to investigate links between biological diversity, nutrient cycling, nutrient retention, water quality, productivity, stability and sustainability of natural and managed ecosystems.

Biondini used NDSU’s Center for High Performance Computing (CHPC) in the development of his model. “CHPC resources have been invaluable since implementations of the model required large memory and disc storage as well as high execution speeds for both its three-dimensional nature and the fine spatial grain needed to model water and nutrient flows at the root surface level,” Biondini said.

Biondini also had information from his project featured in a national impact article that was published on the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service Web site. Stacy Kish wrote the article titled “Scientists Model the Scaling Laws of Water Uptake by Plant Roots.”

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service National Research Initiative provided funding for Biondini’s research. The Council of Scientific Society Presidents is an organization of presidents, presidents-elect, and recent past presidents of about 60 scientific federations and societies whose combined membership numbers more than 1.4 million scientists and science educators. The council provides an opportunity for scientists and science and math educators to convene in a multidisciplinary forum for engaging in lively dialogue with invited speakers from government, academe and industry.