Tree-ring formation and fire history | P19AS00076

Opportunity Information: Apply for P19AS00076

The Tree-ring formation and fire history grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number P19AS00076) was offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, as a discretionary cooperative agreement in the natural resources category (CFDA 15.945). It was created on March 27, 2019, with an original application closing date of April 5, 2019. The program anticipated making a single award, with an award ceiling of $49,900, and eligibility was limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education.

The core purpose of the opportunity was to improve understanding of how trees form annual growth rings over the course of a growing season and how that growth process relates to environmental conditions, with an emphasis on information that can support fire history and related ecological interpretation. The project focus was on trees in BAND, and applicants were asked to quantify both the timing and the environmental drivers of key phases of tree-ring development, specifically the stages associated with cambial activity. In practical terms, this means examining when the tree’s cambium (the layer of dividing cells responsible for wood formation) becomes active, how wood cells are produced and develop, when growth peaks, and when the process slows and shuts down for the year.

To do this, the opportunity centered on combining two complementary data streams: tree-ring microcore analysis and a unique set of weekly dendrometer-band measurements. Microcore analysis involves extracting very small core samples from living trees at intervals and examining the wood under a microscope to track fine-scale changes in xylem formation. This approach can reveal the progression of wood development stages at high temporal resolution, such as the onset of cell division, the period of cell enlargement, wall thickening and lignification, and eventual maturation of the new ring. Dendrometer bands, measured weekly, provide a continuous record of changes in stem circumference that can serve as a near-real-time indicator of growth dynamics. By integrating these methods, the project aims to connect what is happening at the cellular level (how and when new wood is being built) with what is observed as measurable stem expansion over time.

A major deliverable implied by the description is a quantified timeline of four stages of tree-ring growth, along with an analysis of the environmental controls shaping those stages. While the notice does not list specific variables, environmental controls in this kind of work commonly include temperature patterns, moisture availability, drought stress, precipitation events, and seasonal transitions, all of which can accelerate, delay, or truncate cambial activity and wood formation. The end result would be a clearer, more defensible interpretation of how annual rings form in that setting and how ring characteristics may reflect climatic conditions that also influence fire regimes and ecosystem behavior. The cooperative agreement structure also suggests close coordination with the National Park Service, where the agency would likely be involved in refining objectives, facilitating access to sites or existing monitoring infrastructure, and ensuring that findings are usable for park resource management and scientific understanding.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Tree-ring formation and fire history" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 27, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 05, 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 $49,900.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

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