Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID AZ_2023_Meredith

Multifunctional Rainwater Harvesting Impacts on Soil Health

Institute: Arizona
Year Established: 2023 Start Date: 2023-09-01 End Date: 2024-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $9,353 Total Non-Federal Funds: $9,353

Principal Investigators: Laura Meredith

Project Summary: Climate extremes have worsened in the Southwest US leading to increased drought periods, intensified rain events, and exacerbated Urban Island Heat effects. Identifying tools to mitigate negative impacts is key to alleviating current and future conditions for semi-arid communities. Green Infrastructure (GI) can play a role in providing relief from these impacts. More research is needed to understand large-scale responses to GI performance. Our proposed work will measure ecological performance by directly measuring soil health at three different spatial scales. The first objective of this research is to highlight the seasonal influences of rainwater harvesting on urban soils, and determine if total EPS, soil carbon, and aggregation can serve as alternative indicators of soil health. Geospatial analysis and mapping of GI functioning will then be shared with decision makers, demonstrating the importance of local assets in supporting semi-arid communities in the face of climatic and anthropogenic changes.