A Multi-Model Ecosystem Simulator for Predicting the Effects of Multiple Stressors on Great
Plains Ecosystems
The Regional Applied Research
Efforts (RARE) Program promotes
collaboration between EPA regions
and the Office of Research and De-
velopment (ORD). ORD provides
$200,000 per year to each region
to further develop a current ORD
near-term research topic that can
be enhanced to fit the region's top
priorities. These funds are directed
by each region's science liaison
and science program to projects at
ORD labs or through existing ORD
partnerships.
Stretching all the way from North-
ern Oklahoma through Northern
Kansas, the Flint Hills ecosystem
is considered by ecologists to be
its own unique ecosystem, sepa-
rate from that of the Great Plains.
Due to the abundance of grass
plains that cover the Flint Hills, bio-
mass burning is used to manage
the growth and reach of prairie and
grassland. Burning is important to
prairie ecosystems because it con-
trols species, recycles nutrients,
and clears off dead growth. Unfor-
tunately, grassland burning also
releases harmful pollutants into the
atmosphere which can cause air
quality problems under certain con-
ditions.
The Flint Hills project will exam-
ine the effects of various stressors
on agricultural and prairie ecosys-
tems, including the effects of
rangeland burning. The project is
a collaborative effort between Re-
gion 1: the National Health and
Environmental Effects Research
Laboratory's Western Ecology Divi-
S EPA
Region 7
sion, and Kansas State University.
The goal of the study is to develop
regional-scale geographic informa-
tion system (GIS) databases and
process-based models for spatially
and temporally extrapolating the
effects of multiple stressors on ag-
ricultural and prairie ecosystems.
Stressors will include fire, grazing,
invasion of woody species, climate
change, and contaminants, as well
as others.
Because no single model can ad-
dress all stressors and effects of
interest, several models will be
integrated together, each one
serving a unique purpose. The
PSM biogeochemistrv model will
be linked with theGTHM hydrology
model to predict the effects of land
use and climate on the Flint Hills
ecosystem. For example, how will
alternative fire management and
climate scenarios affect rangeland
productivity, carbon sequestration,
and stream water quality and
quantity? GTHM-PSM's bio-
mass predictions will be used as
input for BlueSky, a meteorologi-
cally-based fire management
model that simulates smoke trans-
port and consequent impacts on
regional air quality, including dis-
tant urban areas such as Kansas
City.
The completed modeling frame-
work will establish a foundation for
comprehensive risk assessments
that consider both the ecological
and air quality impacts of biomass
burning. It will track conditions of


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-754-4631
U.S. EPA Region 7: 2007

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