Agricultural Ecology Program: Understanding sources and sinks of nutrients and sediment in the upper Susquehanna River basin Field and Laboratory Research Funding Opportunities Eligibility: Cornell faculty and staff, with appointments in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), or in a department administered by CALS. Awards: about 4 awards of about $30,000 each, January – August A second year of funding is contingent upon renewal of the overall grant. Funds may be used for supplies analytical costs research-related travel publication costs salary (plus 47.5% fringe)  Review information in the grant website and grant proposal (available on the website)  Pre-proposal: 1 page (single-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font). Describe the idea and approach of the project, and how funds would be spent. Send to by 6pm, Monday, October 3th. Pre-proposals will evaluated by the project principal investigators to see whether the project fits into the scope of the grant. Invitations to submit full proposals will be issued by October 17,  Final proposal: 5 pages maximum (not including references or budget; single-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font). Describe the proposed work, how it will complement the overall project, how it relates to other ongoing projects if any, and other current and pending funding sources for the work. References Budget plus a narrative budget justification Biographical sketch for each researcher – see format details on website Send to by 6pm, Monday, November 14th. Proposals will be evaluated by a panel and decisions will be made by December 16, We must submit the proposal and supporting information to USDA for final funding approval of meso-grants. Meso-GrantsMini-Grants  Review information in the grant website and grant proposal (available on the website)  Proposal: 2 pages (not including references or budget; single-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font). Describe the proposed work, how it will complement the overall project, how it relates to other ongoing projects if any, and other current and pending funding sources for the work. References Budget and narrative budget justification Send to by 6pm, Monday, November 14th. Proposals will be evaluated by a panel and decisions will be made by December 16. Eligibility: Cornell graduate students, with appointments in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), or in a department administered by CALS. Awards: about 10 awards of $1000-$3000 each, January – August A second year of funding is contingent upon renewal of the overall grant. Funds may be used for supplies analytical costs research-related travel publication costs Examples of Research Topics Using genomic markers to locate hot spots of denitrifier activity Soil and crop management techniques to reduce N and P input as well as leaching and runoff, for example through tillage or cover crops The relationship between water residence time and loss of N through denitrification in riparian wetlands and first-order streams. Rates of N fixation by agricultural crops in the basin and the fate of that fixed N Potential for reducing farm-scale N and P pollution through changes in diet fed to livestock Volatilization of ammonia from manure on dairy farms in the basin N limitation or saturation of forests in the basin and their tendency to store versus export depositional N inputs Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service To Apply for Meso-Grants: To Apply for Mini-Grants: Project Funding: