Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Current Competitive Grant

Getting the most from Iowa's forests: Linking forest understory composition to stream water quality and enhancing nutrient capture in forest remnants in agricultural landscapes

Project ID: E2011-05

This 2-year grant for $93,745 was awarded in 2011.

Location: Polk, Warren counties

Research for this project will compare soil nutrient content and nutrient and sediment loads in headwater streams located within intact (natural) forests to those in degraded (disturbed) forests. The goal is to identify and disseminate information on practices that enhance riparian forest function in Iowa and the upper Midwest through actions that reduce pollutant inputs to streams and enhance natural ecological processing of nutrients in streams.

Jan R. Thompson

Jan R. Thompson Jan R. Thompson is professor in the ISU Natural Resource Ecology and Management Department. She conducts research in urban and community forestry, specifically focusing on functional ecology of urban woodlands, urban tree establishment, environmental benefits of urban trees, impacts of urbanization on plant communities and hydrological systems, prediction models for invasive species, constraints on urban tree growth, comparative performance of tree species in urban settings, and participatory research in resource management.

Co-Investigator(s):

Cathy McMullen, Tim Stewart, Michaeleen Gerken and Zachary Keninger, ISU Natural Resource Ecology and Management, and Randy Kolka, USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station

This competitive grant project is part of the Leopold Center's Ecology Initiative.

Topics: Water quality, quantity and management, Watershed and ecoregion