[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 97 (Friday, May 18, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27636-27638]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-12539]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Office of Science; Office of Science Financial Assistance Program 
Notice 01-26: Program for Ecosystem Research (PER)

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice inviting grant applications.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Biological and Environmental Research (OBER) of 
the Office of Science (SC), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), hereby 
announces its interest in receiving applications for research grants in 
the Program for Ecosystem Research (PER). Applications should describe 
research projects that address the scientific aims of PER. Applications 
for research on carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems were 
solicited under an earlier announcement (Carbon Sequestration Research 
Program; Notice 00-09), and applications for research on terrestrial 
ecosystem carbon cycle and carbon balance were solicited under another 
earlier announcement (Terrestrial Carbon Processes (TCP) Notice 00-12). 
Applications for research on those topics will not be considered by 
PER.

DATES: Potential applicants are strongly encouraged (but not required) 
to submit a preapplication for programmatic review. The deadline for 
preapplications is July 2, 2001. A response to the preapplications will 
be communicated to the principal investigators by July 9, 2001.
    The deadline for receipt of formal applications is 4:30 p.m., EST, 
August 13, 2001, to be accepted for merit review and to permit timely 
consideration for award in early Fiscal Year 2002. An original and 
seven copies of the application must be submitted. Applicants are 
requested not to submit multiple applications using more than one 
delivery or mail service.

ADDRESSES: If submitting a preapplication, it should be sent as ASCII 
text attached to an e-mail to [email protected], using an 
e-mail subject line of ``PER preapplication.''
    Formal applications, referencing Program Notice 01-26, should be 
sent to: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Grants and 
Contracts Division, SC-64, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874-
1290, ATTN: Program Notice 01-26. This address must also be used when 
submitting applications by U.S. Postal Service Express Mail or any 
other commercial overnight delivery service, or when hand-carried by 
the applicant.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Jeffrey S. Amthor, Environmental 
Sciences Division, SC-74, Office of Biological and Environmental 
Research, U.S. Department of Energy, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, 
MD 20874-1290, telephone (301) 903-2507, e-mail: 
[email protected], fax: (301) 903-8519. The full text of 
Program Notice 01-26, is available via the Internet at the following 
URL:
http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE has responsibility for developing energy 
resources, technologies, and policies to provide for the nation's 
energy needs in a manner that will maintain, protect, and enhance 
environmental quality. Complementary to this commitment, and as part of 
the U.S. Global Change Research Program, DOE also addresses the 
question of how ecosystems respond and adjust to global and regional 
changes in atmospheric composition and related climate changes 
associated with energy production and use.
    The mission of PER is to improve the scientific basis for 
predicting or detecting effects of simultaneous changes in climate and 
atmospheric composition on terrestrial ecosystems and their component 
organisms and processes. Ecosystem processes and components of 
importance to humanity are of special concern. Climatic and atmospheric 
changes of key interest include (but need not be limited to): Warming 
(and changes in diurnal, seasonal, and interannual temperature cycles), 
changes in precipitation and evapotranspiration (e.g., intensification 
of the hydrologic cycle), changes in frequency and/or magnitude of 
extreme weather events and patterns, and rising atmospheric carbon 
dioxide and ozone concentrations. (Hereafter, these climate and 
atmospheric changes are referred to as ``environmental changes''). 
Effects of factors such as human land use and introduction and spread 
of invasive species on ecosystem structure and function are of 
programmatic interest only to the extent that they interact with 
(modify impacts of) environmental changes on terrestrial ecosystems, 
not as stand-alone factors influencing ecosystems and their component

[[Page 27637]]

processes. Study of coastal ecosystems is presently outside the purview 
of PER.
    Program objectives are to improve scientific understanding of how 
and why (or if):
    (1) Terrestrial ecosystems and their component organisms are 
affected by and respond to multiple environmental changes; and
    (2) Underlying biological and/or ecological processes in 
terrestrial ecosystems are controlled or modified by multiple 
environmental changes.
    PER is interested in both experimental research (in the laboratory 
or field as appropriate to the research objectives) and modeling that 
considers both (either) direct and indirect effects of environmental 
changes on terrestrial ecosystems, their components, their processes, 
and their structures. Experimental research based on underlying theory, 
and modeling that considers ecological hierarchies (i.e., multi-level 
or mechanistic modeling), are most relevant, as are considerations of 
multiple environmental changes. Ecosystem responses to environmental 
changes of special interest include: (1) Adjustments at the ecosystem 
scale, such as changes in the organized hierarchy of ecosystem 
processes, structures, biological diversity, and/or succession, and (2) 
adjustments at the organismal scale that are manifested at the 
ecosystem scale, including physiological, biochemical, and/or genetic 
changes that may facilitate (or hinder) ecosystem homeostasis.
    Goals of PER research are to (1) determine and quantify cause-and-
effect relationships between environmental changes and the structure 
and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, including adjustments at the 
ecosystem level and the biological/ecological controls on the cause-
and-effect relationships, and (2) develop and test methods of 
integrating biotic responses to environmental changes up to levels of 
organization as high as whole ecosystems. Mathematical modeling can 
play an important role in attaining these goals, but such modeling must 
involve new empirically based science. Modeling projects must either 
introduce new theories into existing models, and/or critically evaluate 
and improve existing models with independent experimental data. PER 
modeling must go beyond simply making predictions of ecosystem 
responses to environmental change scenarios; it must develop and/or 
test hypotheses concerning cause-and-effect relationships between 
environmental changes and terrestrial ecosystem structure and 
functioning. The main theme defining PER goals is the mechanistic 
understanding and quantification of ecosystem-scale responses to 
ongoing and potential future environmental changes, with an emphasis on 
multiple changes.
    Applications should succinctly articulate the choice of 
environmental factors to be studied and the magnitude of changes 
considered. Those choices might be related to physically based models 
of the future climate system and/or models and projections of the 
chemical characteristics of the future atmosphere. Time scales of 
decades to a century are appropriate.
    When appropriate, use of existing DOE facilities and sites for 
ecosystem research is encouraged. Such facilities/sites include the 
National Environmental Research Parks (NERPs) located at DOE facilities 
throughout the country (see http://www.pnl.gov/nerp/nerpmap.gif), free-
air CO2 enrichment (FACE) sites (see http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/programs/FACE/face.html), and DOE's Atmospheric 
Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program site in Oklahoma (see http://www.arm.gov/).
    Applications focusing primarily on ecosystem carbon exchange or 
carbon balance, or directed at carbon sequestration in terrestrial 
ecosystems, are not appropriate for PER. Such applications should be 
directed to the DOE OBER Terrestrial Carbon Processes (TCP) and the 
Carbon Sequestration Research programs, respectively.
    Concise applications will aid the evaluation process. The technical 
portion of each application should clearly state links between proposed 
research and the PER mission, objectives, and goals. Background 
material (e.g., literature review) in the technical portion of each 
application should be only long enough to demonstrate familiarity with 
the subject and to critically define the need for the proposed 
research. The complete technical portion of each application should not 
exceed 20 double-spaced pages with at least 1-inch margins using a 10-
point (or larger) font. Figures and tables are included in this page 
limit, though the font size in tables and figures may be smaller, as 
long as all material is fully legible. A one-page, single-spaced 
summary should precede the technical portion of the application. 
Applications exceeding these limits may be returned with a request for 
compliance to these standards, but the deadline will not be extended.
    Applications submitted to continue existing PER-sponsored research 
should devote one to one and a half pages of the technical portion of 
the application to a succinct description of the earlier/ongoing 
research and results, including a statement of the project funding 
start date. An appendix must be included listing all refereed 
publications from the project, papers accepted for publication, and 
papers submitted for publication (not draft manuscripts). This appendix 
(which will not count against the 20-page limit) may take the form of 
an annotated bibliography, with a one or two sentence description of 
the significance of each paper listed after each citation. Similarly, 
applications for new research from principal investigators previously 
supported by PER (or by TECO through DOE) may devote one to one and a 
half pages of the technical portion of the application to a succinct 
description of the earlier research and results, including a statement 
of the project(s) funding start and end dates. An appendix (which will 
not count against the 20-page limit) listing all refereed publications 
(published, accepted for publication, and submitted for publication) 
from the earlier project(s) may be included.
    The technical portion of each application should end with a brief, 
clear time line of proposed work and a concise listing of 
responsibilities of each investigator.
    The technical portion of the application should be followed by a 
list of scientific references cited in the technical portion. The 
references-cited section will not count against the 20-page limit.
    Applications must include a curriculum vita for each principal and 
co-principal investigator (two pages maximum per investigator). The 
vitae should specify previous research and publications (if any) 
related to the proposed research. The vitae are not part of the 
technical portion of the application.

Program Funding

    It is anticipated that approximately $1.8 million will be available 
for multiple awards to be made in early FY 2002, contingent on 
availability of funds. Applications may request project support for up 
to three years, with out-year support contingent on availability of 
funds, progress of the research, and programmatic needs. Previous 
awards have been in the range from $80,000 to $250,000 per year, with 
some larger awards made in exceptional cases, including coordinated 
multi-institutional projects. DOE may encourage collaboration among 
prospective investigators to promote joint applications or joint 
research projects by using information obtained in the preapplications 
or other forms of communication.

[[Page 27638]]

Preapplication

    A preapplication is strongly encouraged. The preapplication should 
contain a title, address, telephone, fax and e-mail address of the 
Principal Investigator, and consist of 500 words or less of narrative 
outlining the proposed research objectives and methods. Include a list 
of proposed principal investigators and their institutions at the end 
of the narrative. Responses to preapplications, encouraging or 
discouraging formal applications, will generally be communicated within 
7 days of receipt. Notification of a successful preapplication is not 
an indication that an award will be made in response to the formal 
application.

Merit Review

    Applications will be subjected to formal merit review (peer review) 
and will be evaluated against the following criteria which are listed 
in descending order of importance codified at 10 CFR 605.10(d):
    1. Scientific and/or Technical Merit of the Project;
    2. Appropriateness of the Proposed Method or Approach;
    3. Competency of Applicant's Personnel and Adequacy of Proposed 
Resources; and
    4. Reasonableness and Appropriateness of the Proposed Budget.
    The evaluation will include program policy factors such as the 
relevance of the proposed research to the terms of the announcement and 
the agency's programmatic needs. Note, external peer reviewers are 
selected with regard to both their scientific expertise and the absence 
of conflict-of-interest issues. Non-federal reviewers may be used, and 
submission of an application constitutes agreement that this is 
acceptable to the investigator(s) and the submitting institution.

Submission Information

    Information about the development and submission of applications, 
eligibility, limitations, evaluation, selection process, and other 
policies and procedures may be found in 10 CFR Part 605, and in the 
Application Guide for the Office of Science Financial Assistance 
Program. Electronic access to the Guide and required forms is made 
available via the World Wide Web at: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html. DOE is under no obligation to pay for any costs 
associated with the preparation or submission of applications if an 
award is not made.
    In addition, for this notice, the research description should not 
exceed 20 pages, exclusive of attachments, must include detailed 
budgets, form DOE F 4620.1, for each year of support requested, and 
must contain a one-page abstract or summary of the proposed research. 
On the SC grant face page, form DOE F 4650.2, in block 15, also provide 
the PI's phone number, fax number and e-mail address. Attachments 
should include curriculum vitae for all key personnel, a listing of all 
current and pending federal support, and letters of intent when 
collaborations are part of the proposed research. Curriculum vitae 
should be submitted in a form similar to that of NIH or NSF (two pages 
maximum), see for example: http://www.nsf.gov:80/bfa/cpo/gpg/fkit.htm#forms-9.
    For researchers who do not have access to the World Wide Web, 
please contact Karen Carlson, Environmental Sciences Division, SC-74, 
U.S. Department of Energy, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874-
1290, phone: (301) 903-3338, fax: (301) 903-8519, e-mail: 
[email protected]; for hard copies of background material 
mentioned in this solicitation.

(The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number for this program 
is 81.049, and the solicitation control number is ERFAP 10 CFR part 
605.)

    Issued in Washington, DC May 9, 2001.
John Rodney Clark,
Associate Director of Science for Resource Management.
[FR Doc. 01-12539 Filed 5-17-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-U