Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Basin CESU | G19AS00094

Opportunity Information: Apply for G19AS00094

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Basin CESU funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G19AS00094) is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) discretionary research award offered under the Department of the Interior. It is structured as a cooperative agreement, meaning the work is expected to involve substantial involvement by the USGS in addition to the recipient carrying out the project. The opportunity falls under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category and is associated with CFDA (now Assistance Listing) 15.808. The USGS planned to make a single award, with an estimated maximum funding amount (award ceiling) of $10,105.

The purpose of the project is to explore whether metagenomic methods can be used to identify desert biological soil crusts (biocrusts) on disturbed lands. Biocrusts are communities of organisms such as cyanobacteria, algae, fungi, lichens, and mosses that live on or near the soil surface in arid environments and play an outsized role in ecosystem function, including soil stabilization, nutrient cycling, and influencing water infiltration. Because these communities can be difficult to detect and differentiate visually, especially after disturbance, they are often described as cryptic. The USGS is essentially seeking research that tests whether DNA-based tools can provide a more reliable, accurate way to detect and characterize biocrust presence and composition in impacted soils.

A central early step described in the opportunity is building a reference library of known DNA "fingerprints" that can be extracted from soils. In practice, this implies assembling validated genetic signatures for biocrust-associated taxa or community profiles, so that soil samples collected from disturbed sites can be compared against a dependable baseline. Without that reference library, metagenomic sequencing results can be hard to interpret, since the technique produces large volumes of DNA data that require trusted reference sequences for identification and classification. If the library-building step is successful, it sets the foundation for applying metagenomic techniques as a monitoring and assessment tool across disturbed desert landscapes, potentially improving how land managers and scientists measure biocrust condition, recovery, or loss following activities like grazing, recreation, fire, energy development, or other surface disturbances.

Eligibility is limited to CESU partners under the Great Basin Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, with the listing indicating "Others" and directing applicants to additional eligibility language for clarification. In other words, this is not an open competition to all organizations; it is intended for entities that are already part of the CESU network (commonly universities, tribes, nonprofit organizations, and certain state or federal partners, depending on the specific CESU). The original posting date was July 9, 2019, with an original closing date of July 26, 2019, reflecting a short application window typical of targeted CESU competitions.

In summary, this small, single-award USGS cooperative agreement supports applied research to determine whether metagenomics can be turned into a practical identification and assessment approach for desert biocrusts on disturbed lands, beginning with the development of a usable soil-derived DNA reference library that can anchor future monitoring and management decisions.

• The Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Basin CESU" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 09, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 26, 2019. (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 $10,105.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for G19AS00094

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