Landscape Pattern – Marl Prairies/Slough Gradients | W81EWF 24 SOI 0023

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81EWF 24 SOI 0023

The grant opportunity titled "Landscape Pattern - Marl Prairies/Slough Gradients" (Funding Opportunity Number W81EWF 24 SOI 0023) is a discretionary research award from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) offered as a cooperative agreement. It supports science and technology research aimed at tracking how vegetation patterns are changing along the transition between marl prairies and slough habitats in the Everglades, specifically across Shark River Slough and into marl prairie edges on the east and/or west side. A central emphasis is the continuation of a long-term monitoring dataset, meaning applicants are expected to build on an established record of observations collected along existing field transects rather than starting from scratch with a new monitoring design.

At its core, the project is about documenting and interpreting vegetation change along a prairie-to-slough gradient, where subtle shifts in water depth, hydroperiod, soil conditions, and disturbance can drive major changes in plant communities. The work focuses on characterizing vegetation composition (which species are present), structure (how vegetation is physically arranged, such as height, density, and community layering), and abundance (how common different plants and communities are) across that gradient. One key deliverable implied by the objectives is a clear picture of how plant communities vary spatially along the transects and how that spatial pattern changes over time, including whether certain communities are expanding, contracting, or being replaced.

The objectives are organized into three connected research goals. Objective 1 centers on describing prairie and slough vegetation communities in a way that is consistent and repeatable over time, then using those data to detect changes in the composition and extent of plant communities along marl prairie/slough gradients. Objective 2 moves from general community description to a sharper focus on boundaries: identifying where one vegetation assemblage transitions into another, describing the biophysical attributes of that transition zone (for example, local hydrology, substrate conditions, or other site features), and detecting whether the position of these boundaries shifts through time and across space. Objective 3 ties the observed vegetation changes to likely drivers, especially hydrologic change associated with Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) activities, while also accounting for climatic variation. In practice, this objective frames the vegetation monitoring as a way to evaluate restoration outcomes by linking ecological responses to hydrologic conditions and management actions.

In addition to continuing the monitoring dataset, the opportunity also notes potential work that uses the monitoring data to develop tools for measuring ecological performance in response to CERP implementation. This suggests the project may extend beyond field data collection and into applied analysis and decision-support, such as creating indicators, metrics, or assessment approaches that translate raw monitoring observations into interpretable measures of restoration progress. The notice also states that the detailed budget and scope are to be developed separately from the anticipated work described, which typically means the opportunity sets the scientific direction and intent now, while the final work plan, tasks, and cost details would be refined during proposal development and subsequent coordination under the cooperative agreement structure.

Funding is capped at an award ceiling of $132,000, with one award expected. The original closing date was June 3, 2024, and the opportunity was created April 15, 2024. The CFDA listing associated with the announcement is 12.630. Eligibility is restricted: only non-federal partners of the South Florida - Caribbean Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU) may apply. That restriction is a major gatekeeping requirement and effectively limits applicants to qualifying CESU member institutions and partners operating under that network, excluding federal entities.

The announcement also includes compliance and disclosure conditions that affect eligibility and award continuation. Applicants must provide disclosures of current and pending support, and those disclosures can influence eligibility for funding. ERDC may request updated current and pending support information both before an award and throughout the period of performance, and the agency indicates that review of those updates could result in discontinuation of funding. Finally, the notice clarifies that religious organizations are eligible to compete on the same basis as secular organizations for federal financial assistance, consistent with Executive Order 13798 on free speech and religious liberty.

• The Engineer Research and Development Center in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Landscape Pattern – Marl Prairies/Slough Gradients" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.630.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-04-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-06-03. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $132,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for W81EWF 24 SOI 0023

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