Robert Heinse

Modeling and Design of Optimal Growth Media from Plant - Based Gas and Liquid Fluxes

Note: SAE Technical Paper 2005-01-2949 Reference LASEP-CONF-2005-006 Record created on 2007-08-24, modified on 2016-08-08

Five ways to support interdisciplinary work before tenure

Academic institutions often claim to promote interdisciplinary teaching and research. Prescriptions for successfully engaging in interdisciplinary efforts, however, are usually directed at the individuals doing the work rather than the institutions evaluating them for the purpose of tenure and promotion. Where institutional recommendations do exist, they are often general in nature and lacking concrete guidance. Here, we draw on our experiences as students and faculty participating in three interdisciplinary water resource management programs in the USA to propose five practices that academic institutions can adopt to effectively support interdisciplinary work. We focus on reforms that will support pre-tenure faculty because we believe that an investment in interdisciplinary work early in one’s career is both particularly challenging and seldom rewarded. Recommended reforms include (1) creating metrics that reward interdisciplinary scholarship, (2) allowing faculty to “count” teaching and advising loads in interdisciplinary programs, (3) creating a “safe fail” for interdisciplinary research proposals and projects, (4) creating appropriate academic homes for interdisciplinary programs, and (5) rethinking “advancement of the discipline” as a basis for promotion and tenure.

Using Science to Bridge Management and Policy: Terracette Hydrologic Function and Water Quality Best Management Practices in Idaho

On The Ground Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution is a leading cause of water quality degradation on 40% of the semiarid lands within the western United States, with sediment from runoff on agricultural lands making up 15%. Managing NPS pollution through best management practices (BMPs) relies on site-specific knowledge and voluntary application. The dominant hydrologic processes in semiarid environments are a product of local climate, vegetation, and soil conditions; therefore, land use and ecosystem resilience invariably hinge on a balance of shifting, and often competing, social and environmental drivers. Our measurements of terracette hydrologic function and existence on more than 159,000 hectares within Idaho enabled an estimate of potential NPS erosion and sediment generation, emphasizing the value of site-specific scientific research for land managers. Our study provides an example of how microtopographic landforms, such as terracettes, are connected with state and federal clean water policy as one example of how interdisciplinary research can have far-reaching application.

Measurement of Porous Media Hydraulic Properties during Parabolic Flight Induced Microgravity

Bioregenerative life-support systems proposed for longduration space missions require an understanding of the physical processes that govern distribution and transport of fluids in particulate porous plant-growth media. Our objectives were to develop hardware and instrumentation to measure porous-medium water retention and hydraulic transport properties during parabolic-flight induced microgravity. Automated measurements complimented periodic manual operations in three separate experiments using porous ceramic aggregates and glass beads. The water content was adjusted in multiple steps in periods of 1.8g. Continuous hydraulic potential measurements provided information on water retention. The short duration of microgravity limited the occurrence of equilibrium potentials under partially saturated conditions. Measured pressure gradients under fixed flow rates were largely unaffected by gravity force in saturated cylindrical porous-medium-filled flow cells. High resolution video imagery provided details on water imbibition rates into dry and previously wetted porous media. Additional analysis of these data will provide insight into the effects of reduced gravity on porous medium hydraulic properties.

Modeling of terracette‐hillslope soil moisture as a function of aspect, slope and vegetation in a semiarid environment

In the semi-arid western United States, water availability plays a defining role in land use. Soil moisture, vegetation, and microtopography are key variables in the hydrologic function of these ecosystems. Previous research has not addressed the influence of site-specific aspect, vegetation, or slope gradient on terracette soil moisture patterns in semi-arid rangelands. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to: (1) assess the influence of terracette site aspect, vegetation cover, and slope on soil moisture; (2) conceptualize conditions at the hillslope scale given terracette morphology; and (3) estimate the extent of terracettes at a regional scale. The Simultaneous Heat and Water (SHAW) model was used to simulate soil water dynamics of terracettes given variations in site conditions. These results were coupled with time-of-flight laser scans to quantify terracette bench and riser percent-area, and statewide assessments of terracette extent using digital orthoimagery and a geographical information system (GIS). Modeling results indicated site aspect had minimal influence (±0.005 m3 m−3) on terracette soil moisture. Vegetation, represented as leaf area index (LAI), had the single-most influential effect on terracette volumetric water content (θv) demonstrated by an inverse relationship of LAI to mean terracette hillslope θv; and slope increases of ≥15% on northern azimuths increased mean θv which contrasted with southern azimuths for similar slope increases. Laser scanning results indicated bench width and riser length could be estimated from mean site slope (R2 = 0.82 risers and R2 = 0.93 benches). Aerial orthoimagery/GIS assessments estimated >159 000 ha of terracettes throughout the State of Idaho, with >41 000 ha (~26%) occurring on lands managed as grazing allotments. These findings provide an increased understanding of rangeland hydrologic processes as influenced by cattle density, vegetation, and terracettes which can aide land managers in their selection and application of best management practices on these lands. Copyright

Climate moderates potential shifts in streamflow from changes in pinyon-juniper woodland cover across the western U.S.

Water Resources Program, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843, USA Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844‐1133, USA Plant, Soil and Entomological and Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844‐2339, USA USDA‐Agricultural Research Service, Northwest Watershed Research Center, Boise, ID 83712, USA Correspondence Ryan Niemeyer, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 201 More Hall, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Email: rniemeyr@uw.edu Funding information National Science Foundation (NSF) IGERT, Grant/Award Number: 0903479 and 1249400; NSF CBET, Grant/Award Number: 0854553; Department of the Interior Northwest Climate Science Center (NWCSC) and United States Geological Survey, Grant/Award Number: G14AP00153; NWCSC Doctoral Fellowship