This proposal will fund installation of a Distributed Environmental Sensor Network (DESN) consisting of permanent and portable weather stations deployed along an elevational gradient. The DESN will enable measurement of important environmental parameters such as rainfall, soil moisture, temperature, radiation, and soil CO2 that will fundamentally improve the ability of scientists to study how organisms interact with the environment. Installation of a sensor network will allow RMBL scientists to pursue a number of specific questions, including how climate variability affects water budgets, ecosystem carbon fluxes, and species distributions; to test hypotheses concerning the physiological underpinnings of species hybrid zones; to identify how environmental parameters interact with social dynamics to influence marmot population demography, influence butterfly species invasions, and plant, amphibian, and stream/pond insect population dynamics.
The RMBL has been an important center for training in field research and access to a DESN will be an important component of both undergraduate and graduate training. Additionally, the DESN will provide data to the Natural Resource Conservation Service that will allow them to improve the models they use to manage water resources. Decisions about how much water and when to release it from dams is critical to maintaining agriculture as well as ensuring availability of water for domestic consumption.
