NJIT Biologist Wins NSF CAREER Award to Explore Hidden Hydrological Factor to Forest Resilience | Newswise
In a groundbreaking study aimed at unraveling the complex factors influencing forest resilience, ecohydrologist Xiaonan Tai from New Jersey Institute of Technology has secured a substantial NSF CAREER Award. This grant amounting to $1.16 million seeks to enhance our understanding of how groundwater dynamics play a critical role in the survival of forests during periods of climate-induced stress, such as extreme heat and drought.
The prestigious CAREER award is one of the National Science Foundation’s foremost accolades for junior faculty members, and it will underpin a five-year project entitled “Unveiling the Role of Hillslope Hydrology in Mediating Ecosystem Response to Drought.” This project aims to break new ground by merging the fields of ecology and hydrology, which have previously offered disparate predictions concerning forest mortality during drought conditions.
Dr. Tai, who serves as an assistant professor of biological sciences and leads NJIT’s Ecohydrology Lab, emphasizes the need to reconcile the differing views of ecologists and hydrologists. Ecologists commonly predict that trees inhabiting wetter terrains may be more susceptible in drought scenarios, while hydrologists argue that increased moisture availability should enhance survival prospects. The initiative aims to synthesize these conflicting perspectives to establish a more nuanced understanding of how they jointly affect ecosystems.
“It’s essential to rethink the simplistic linear models we’ve used in the past. Instead, we might encounter more complex relationships, akin to a bell curve that varies across different landscapes and ecosystems,” explained Tai.
Until now, limited research has delved into the connection between forest vitality and how hillslope hydrology distributes rainfall across landscapes — from moist valleys to arid ridge tops. Tai underscores the significance of questioning whether groundwater serves as a buffer against drought or potentially exacerbates the collapse of ecosystems under stress. Current Earth system models fail to capture these dynamics accurately due to their overly simple portrayals of water movement.
The research aims to employ a trio of approaches: analysis of remote sensing data reflecting forest health, examination of long-term in-situ forest survey records, and implementation of advanced computer modeling to assess groundwater’s role in forest resilience across the United States.
Findings from this venture could contribute to the refinement of predictive models that identify forest regions most susceptible to drought and forecast their responses to future environmental shifts. Given the challenges of predicting forest mortality, prioritizing areas for conservation becomes increasingly vital. Tai believes that by expanding the geographic scope of research, patterns may emerge that conventional field studies fail to disclose.
Dr. Tai’s innovative work builds upon a foundation of significant contributions that illuminate forest endurance under environmental stressors. From examining wildfire effects in Wyoming’s Medicine Bow National Forest to debunking unforeseen statuses in the Western U.S. forests’ drought responses, Tai has been at the forefront of this emergent research area.
The CAREER Award further extends to support an array of educational and outreach programs. Tai plans to introduce educational offerings in terrestrial ecology at NJIT, spanning K-12 through doctoral levels. These initiatives will include a summer research camp designed to provide experiential training in spatial ecology for local high school, community college, and NJIT students. Collaboration with Associate Professor Michael Lee from NJIT’s Ying Wu College of Computing will also afford young learners opportunities to engage with forest resilience concepts while honing coding skills.
Set to unfold between July 2025 and June 2030, this transformative project is funded through a partnership between NSF’s Ecosystem Science Cluster in the Directorate for Biological Sciences and the Water, Landscape, and Critical Zone Processes program in the Directorate for Geosciences.
Through these interdisciplinary endeavors, Tai and her team are poised to reshape our understanding of the interplay between groundwater and forest survival, making strides that may hold the key to bolstering forest ecosystems in the face of ongoing climatic challenges.
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