Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Audiences for this work include city residents, local and regional planners, watershed improvement coordinators, civic officials, city sustainability managers, citizen sustainability task force members, public works personnel, stormwater management professionals, forest managers, forestry consultants, natural resource management agency personnel, and non-governmental agency personnel. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has provided training and professional development for 7 graduate students and 5undergraduate students. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results for water quality and quantity assessments have been disseminated in meetings with watershed coordinators and to watershed residents in two new brochures on stormwater management and one virtual workshop for these audiences. Results for watershed resident survey results were also shared in one conference presentation, and results for water quality assessments were shared in one popular-press article and one symposium presentation. A virtual (videotaped) field tour focused on urban stormwater management was delivered in a hosted conference to a live audience of 75 participants that included watershed improvement coordinators and engineers, and was then made available on an Iowa State University website for several months. Results for integration of biophysical and social system data have been shared in meetings with project stakeholders, local sustainability task forces, and in presentations at local, regional, national and international conferences, as well as in their proceedings. Additional results have been shared in two peer-reviewed publications in international journals. Work on biodiversity in urban areas was included in two peer-reviewed publications and an accessible online web-based presentation. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For Objective 1, work will continue on water quantity and quality for outflows in Cedar Falls Iowa. Work will begin on using hydrological models to characterize those watersheds. For Objective 2, we will continue assembling data for models to describe current and future hypothetical food, energy and water systems in and near Des Moines Iowa. For this work we will continue to develop outreach presentations for local stakeholders, as well as conference presentations and manuscripts to be submitted for peer-reviewed publication. For Objective 3, work on one final manuscript and addition of information to the restoration website will be completed.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Overall impact statement: Additional data from the ongoing paired watersheds study led to increased knowledge among researchers, project coordinators, watershed residents and state officials about effects from use of watershed BMP implementation in Cedar Falls and Des Moines Iowa. In particular, and before and after analysis of effective impervious areas in a treatment watershed compared to a control watershed was shared with stormwater management professionals to illustrate the positive cumulative impact of many small BMPs installed at a residential property scale. A new survey of residents in Cedar Falls indicated levels of homeowner knowledge and attitudes regarding stormwater/stormwater management. Results were shared with watershed improvement project personnel and used immediately to design and implement additional outreach and engagement with local residents. Continued analysis of spatially explicit urban forest inventory data was used to quantify the separate effects of shade and evapotranspiration rates under different canopy cover and airflow conditions surrounding structures in Des Moines Iowa, leading to better ability to understand and design landscapes for improved comfort using passive airflow. Results are being used especially for low-resource areas where homeowners may not have central air conditioning systems to better understand how to alleviate extreme heat in dwellings during heat waves in summer. Work began on a new project which is being used to inform urban residents and policy makers of connections between food, energy and water systems in and near cities. Models are being used to assess current conditions and predict future conditions related to landscape changes associated with additional food production in urban and near-urban areas. Early results showing close integration between social and biophysical systems have been shared with local stakeholders and used to inform local sustainability planning efforts. Information on conditions that support conservation of biodiversity in central Iowa landscapes, especially for remnant prairies, forests, and wetlands, were compiled and shared in a web-based "Prezi" format and made available to resource managers and the public to generate interest and support for broad approaches to resource conservation in a working landscape. Additional literature review and data analyses were used to ascertain plant material collection zones for reintroduction of forest perennial herbaceous species and shared with forestry professionals and the general public via a new webpage on forest understory restoration. Objective 1: Quantify water quality and quantity outcomes associated with use of green infrastructure in urban environments and assess social factors influencing their use. Data and samples were collected for flow rates and water quality analyses for the Cedar Falls Iowa sites that represent a treatment and a control subwatershed. Automated samplers were installed and used to collect data for all stormwater flow generating events, and to collect flow-weighted composite samples for determination of total phophorus, orthophosphate, total suspended solids, ntirite + ntirate, ammonia, chloride and total nitrogen. Amounts for precipitation and discharge volumes were determined for for 18 events in the treatment watershed and 19 events in the control watershed. Nutrient and sediment delivery were determined on an area basis for 6 of those events in both the treatment and control subwatersheds. Analyses to determine changes in effective impervious area in treatment watersheds were conducted. A mixed-mode survey instrument was administered to 110 residences (30 in the treatment watershed, 8 in the control watershed, and 72 randomly selected other addresses) in Cedar Falls to measure "pre-outreach" levels of awareness and attitudes among homeowners related to stormwater management. Analyses of survey responses are ongoing. Additional outreach efforts were conducted via online distribution of two brochures and participation in virtual workshops due to COVID-19 limitations on in-person gatherings. Objective 2: Identify appropriate models for integration of biophysical and social systems data and use them to develop more sustainable and equitable urban environmental designs. Tree inventory data collected in Des Moines and previously combined with parcel and building data in a visualization tool were further analyzed to determine the role of trees in providing shade (through a shadow analysis framework) and evapotranspiration-based cooling (using a theoretical computational fluid dynamic modeling approach) for trees located at different distances from dwellings and experiencing different direction and velocity of air flows (wind simulation). Analyses of several hypothetical scenarios abstracted from spatially explicit data are ongoing. In a new project, preliminary work was conducted to develop an integrated urban food-energy-water systems (FEWS) analysis, also focused on Des Moines Iowa. This project uses co-simulation for assessment of current and future conditions, with an emphasis on local (urban and urban-adjacent) food production. The framework will allow simultaneous analyses of climate dynamics (using a weather research and forecasting model), changes in land cover (based on GIS models), built forms (based on building energy models), energy use for food/crop production (life-cycle assessment models), and environmental outcomes (for water and greenhouse gas emissions) associated with a set of drivers of system change related to policy, crop management, technology, social interaction, and market forces affecting food production. The ultimate goal is to enhance understanding of the urban system function and management, increase resilience, and enhance sustainability. The approach will culminate in data-driven co-simulation to enable coupling of disparate food, energy and water simulation models across a range of spatial and temporal scales. Objective 3: Determine factors influencing planning for and effectiveness of habitat restoration and conservation to increase benefits provided by biodiversity in urban areas. Combined research and outreach efforts were conducted focusing on prairies, forests, and wetlands in central Iowa and culminating in a presentation to local stakeholders and an interactive "Prezi" which is hosted on an Iowa State University website. Additional local-level work and literature review enabled determination of better guidelines for plant material sourcing specifically for forest understory species. A new website is under development and a publication is in review detailing this work.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Mabry, C.M., and T.M. 2020. Harms. Impact of delayed mowing on grassland birds of conservation concern. Ecological Restoration 38(2) 77-82
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Stewart, Thompson, J.R., Tank, K.M., Olson, J.K., Rentz, M.S., and Wolter, P.T. (2021. Accepted pending minor revisions). A course-based research and teaching experience for science majors and preservice educators ( Field Ecology Research and Teaching ). Journal of College Science Teaching.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Mabry, C.M. 2021. Temperate Herbaceous Species Plant Material Sourcing Policies Vary Widely and Why That Might be Okay. In review, Ecological Restoration
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Marmur, B., Ford, C., Curry, R., Thompson, J. 2020. Fast and Easy Stormwater Fixes. https://www.nrem.iastate.edu/files/page/files/bmp_checklist_fastandeasyfixes.pdf
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Marmur, B., Curry, R., Ford, C., Thompson, J. 2020. Weekend Stormwater Fixes: https://www.nrem.iastate.edu/files/page/files/bmp_checklist_weekendfixes.pdf
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Altrichter, E., C. Mabry, J. Thompson, and R. Kolka. 2020. Genetic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity of forest herbaceous species in Iowa, central United States. Ecological Restoration 38(3):160-168
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Passe, U., Dorneich, M., Krejci, C., Koupaei, D. M., Marmur, B., Shenk, L., Thompson, J., Zhou, Y. (2020). An urban modelling framework for climate resilience in low-resource neighbourhoods. Buildings and Cities, 1(1), 453474
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Passe, U., J. Thompson, and K. Zarecor (eds.) 2020. SUS-RURI: Developing a Convergence Sustainable Urban Systems Agenda for Redesigning the Urban-Rural Interface Along the Mississippi River Watershed. Proceedings of an NSF-Sponsored Workshop Held in Ames, Iowa, August 1213, 2019. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Digital Press. https://doi.org/10.31274/isudp.35.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Marmur, B. 2020 (in press). When stormwater management goes green : Green infrastructure. Getting into Soil and Water. Digital publication in the ISU digital repository
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Marmur, B., Perreault, J., Balk, J., Thompson, J. (2020) Using survey results to enhance outreach and increase implementation of residential stormwater BMPs. Soil and Water Conservation Society International Annual Conference. Virtual conference presentation.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Stone, T., Rosentrater, K., Thompson, J. (2020). LCA and TEA of conventional versus local production of vegetables for US Midwest cities [poster]. American Society of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineers International Meeting.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Stone, T., Rosentrater, K., Thompson, J., Nair, A. (2020). Climate-smart vegetable production: The environmental attributes of vegetables produced in conventional, local and home-garden food systems in the Midwest US [poster]. American Center for Life Cycle Assessment Conference, Madison, WI.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Fagbule, O., Patel, R., Thompson, J., Passe, U. (2021, accepted). Validating the impact of vegetative wall coverings on building cooling loads using heat-flux sensors and infrared images [poster]. National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Thompson, J. 2020. Urban Stream and Riparian Area Conservation. Iowa Learning Farms Virtual Field Day (videotaped tour of stormwater management practices).
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Marmur, B., A. Waters, J Thompson, and D. McKune. Dry Run Creek stormwater stewards project. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Dry Run Creek Watershed Improvement Project Annual Meeting
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Mitchell, G., G. Courtney, C. Mabry, J. Tyndall and A. Wickham. Ames Insect Initiative: Replace lawns with pollinator friendly/edible plants and reduce use of pesticides.
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Shehab, I., K. Sands and M. Langer. Where the Wild Things Could Be. Interactive Prezi, Available at: https://www.nrem.iastate.edu/watch-nrem-students-presentation-urban-biodiversity-polk-county-where-wild-things-could-be (last accessed 10 April 2021).
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Marmur, B., and J. Thompson. 2020. Stormwater Stewards. Available at: https://www.nrem.iastate.edu/BMPchecklist
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Mabry, C. 2020. Native Iowa Woodland Understory Restoration. Available at: https://naturalresources.extension.iastate.edu/understory-restoration (last accessed 10 April 2021).
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Progress 12/03/18 to 09/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Audiences for this work include city residents, local and regional planners, watershed improvement coordinators, civic officials, parks and public works personnel, non-governmental agency personnel, stormwater management professionals, forest owners and managers, forestry consultants, other natural resource management agency personnel, and scientific peers. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has provided training and professional development for 5 graduate students and 4 undergraduates. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results for water quality and quantity outcomes have been disseminated in meetings with watershed improvement project coordinators and to watershed residents via mail delivery of fact sheets and brochures, two on-site workshops, and two presentations at local events in the two watersheds. Results of surveys related to resident implementation of structural stormwater management practices have also been shared in two meetings with watershed project coordinators. Results for integration of biophysical and social systems data have been included in a set of three presentations at international conferences and associated proceedings articles have been published. An additional workshop was hosted by project investigators aimed at developing a research agenda for the urban-rural interface in the larger Mississippi River watershed and digital proceedings are under review and will be broadly disseminated among this community of practice. Results for both general urban biodiversity conservation and local forest herbaceous layer restoration were included in two international conference presentations and included in manuscripts for the peer-reviewed literature (one in review, one in preparation). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For Objective 1, we will continue to monitor outflow quantity and quality in the second set of watersheds in Cedar Falls, IA, and continue to conduct outreach to increase resident participation in stormwater management. For Objective 2, we will continue to develop and improve integrated models for better urban and urban-rural interface designs. For Objective 3, we will complete development of two manuscripts for peer review.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Overall Impact:Data from paired watersheds increased knowledge among researchers, watershed project coordinators and residents about relationships between land cover, residential property characteristics, use of stormwater management practices, and discharge rates/pollutant levels related to those parameters in both Des Moines and Cedar Falls, IA. Results of resident surveys have been shared with watershed improvement coordinators and used to improve design and delivery of outreach and engagement efforts to increase adoption of residential urban stormwater management practices throughout Iowa. Analysis of urban tree inventory data in a spatially-explicit model indicated patterns for air movement and temperature profiles that will improve building energy dynamics and suggest landscape configurations for trees and buildings that could contribute to more effective passive temperature control for dwellings in resource-challenged neighborhoods. The potential to integrate these specifics into design configurations for similar neighborhoods will provide significant benefit to reduce building interior temperature conditions during anticipated more frequent and more extreme heat events. Examination of three case studies on conservation of biodiversity in urban regions generated new knowledge that can be used to improve future regional-scale urban conservation efforts. Specific studies of forest understory herbaceous species revealed that broader plant collection zones could be used for reintroduction of several species in urban forest areas to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem function. Objective 1: Quantify water quality and quantity outcomes associated with use of green infrastructure in urban environments and assess social factors influencing their use. Data and samples were collected using automated samplers for flow rates (Des Moines and Cedar Falls, IA) and water quality analysis (Cedar Falls) using a paired watershed approach with treatment and control sub-watersheds at each location. Flow-weighted composite samples were analyzed to determine total phosphorus, orthophosphate, total suspended solids, nitrite + nitrate, ammonia, and total nitrogen. Amounts for precipitation, discharge volumes, and nutrient and sediment delivery on an area basis for each sub-watershed were determined. A mixed-mode survey instrument was developed and administered via internet and direct mail to approximately 1,600 residents in the Des Moines study area, including those in the Easter Lake Watershed as well as targeted populations in the treatment and control sub-watersheds within it. Response rates were 10% for watershed residents, 36% for residents in the control sub-watershed, and 49% for those in the treatment sub-watershed. Respondents indicated awareness of the lake restoration project and factors influencing residential stormwater runoff that could affect the lake. Many residents were also aware of and used non-structural BMPs but fewer indicated familiarity with or use of structural BMPs. For respondents who implemented structural practices, having adequate information about the practice, the opportunity to improve the appearance of their property, the availability of cost-share and interest in protecting water quality were factors identified as important to encourage adoption. Many residents indicated they had received information directly from watershed project personnel and from flyers and brochures delivered via U.S. mail. Those who had adopted structural practices also reported that personal observations were important sources of information that guided their decisions to implement BMPs. Outreach materials were developed and distributed via mail and in person at events in Cedar Falls (based on the Easter Lake results). These were specifically designed to encourage adoption of structural stormwater BMPs in the treatment watershed. Objective 2: Identify appropriate models for integration of biophysical and social systems data, and use them to develop more sustainable and equitable urban environmental designs. A comprehensive tree inventory was conducted in a selected neighborhood in Des Moines, IA. Tree inventory data were collected for 1,142 trees (including species, diameter, total height, canopy height, volume and density) and combined with parcel and building footprint data to create a neighborhood representation using visualization tools. Assessment of energy performance of buildings with and without shade from trees were used to estimate annual cooling energy demands under current and anticipated future climate and tree canopy conditions. Output data were further used to develop computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models that described building micro-environments and incorporating estimated evapotranspiration (ET) to quantify latent heat transfer near trees. Trees provided improvement in situations of extreme heat via both shading and ET-based local cooling. Objective 3:Determine factors influencing planning for and effectiveness of habitat restoration and conservation to increase benefits provided by biodiversity in urban areas. Based on case studies in three large metropolitan areas with ongoing urban biodiversity conservation activities, four common factors supporting successful conservation were identified: large-scale/long-term thinking and planning, evidence-based information and support, inclusive and collaborative processes, and integration of local context into conservation planning. At a more local level, the potential for restoration of forest herbaceous species was studied on a set of three urban forest sites in central Iowa. Although genotypic variation was detected between local and non-local plants, differences in plant traits diminished over time which was attributable to phenotypic plasticity. This indicates that potential plant transfer zones could be larger than is typically indicated in the literature.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Stonewall, J., U. Passe, M. Dorneich, L. Shenk, C. Krejci, J. Thompson, B. Ganapathysubramanian, S. Sarkar, and Y. Zhou. 2019. An approach to incorporating human behaviors, building occupancy characteristics, and near-building climates in decision making to increase resilience of urban neighborhoods. In Proceedings of a Workshop on Social Justice and Equity in the Engineering of Smart and Connected Cities, University of Washington.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Hashemi, F., B. Marmur, U. Passe, and J. Thompson. 2018. Developing a workflow to integrate tree inventory data into urban energy models. Pp. 331-336 In Proceedings of the Simulation in Architecture and Urban Development Conference (SimAUD), Society for Modeling & Simulation International.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Lang, B., M. Widrlechner, P. Dixon, and J. Thompson 2020. Can climatic variables improve phenological predictions for butterfly species? Journal of Insect Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-019-00212-3.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Lang, B., P. Dixon, R. Klaver, J. Thompson, and M. Widrlechner. 2019. Characterizing urban butterfly populations: The case for purposive point-count surveys. Urban Ecosystems 22:1083-1096. DOI: 10.1007/s11252-019-00880-8.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Passe, U., J. Thompson, B. Ganapathysubramanian, B. Gao, and B. Marmur. 2019. The impact of trees on passive survivability during extreme heat events in warm and humid regions. In Proceedings of the Comfort at the Extremes (CATE2019) Conference, pp. 119-133.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
McKune, D., A. Waters, B. Marmur, and J. Thompson. 2019. Stormwater Stewards: You can make a difference for water quality.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Waters, A., D. McKune, B. Marmur, and J. Thompson. 2019. Stormwater Stewards FAQ: Stormwater Best Management Practices for Homes and Yards.
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