Water Resources Division
- Local, State and Regional Water Quality Issues
- Wetlands
- Streams and Large Rivers
- Controlled Environments
- Reservoirs
Main Issues
Kansas has witnessed a rapid rise in the demand for water by competing interests. This demand has brought with it the realization that the quality and quantity of the water resources in the state and region cannot be taken for granted. The importance of water for agriculture, industry, and municipal uses is recognized widely; but its importance to wildlife, recreation, and general aesthetics often is overlooked.
Information about the kinds, numbers, and habitats of aquatic organisms is essential to our understanding of the structure, function, and health of rivers, streams, reservoirs, lakes, and wetlands.
Division Resources & Expertise
KBS researchers in the Water Resources Division have expertise in aquatic ecology, reservoir dynamics, wetland and large river ecosystems and ecophysiology, and environmental assessment and monitoring issues associated with urban and rural water quality.
Division research draws extensively from the water quality monitoring and assessment resources of the Central Plains Center for Bioassessment; the aquatic research facilities of the University of Kansas Field Station and the Kansas Aquatic Mesocosm Program; and the mapping and monitoring capabilities of the Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program. These researchers also collaborate with faculty within various departments at the University of Kansas, and have extensive relationships with the Kansas Department of Health & Environment and EPA Region VII.
Land and Wildlife Resources Division
General Focus Areas
- Natural Areas
- Grassland and prairie restoration
- Conservation
- Biodiversity
- Rangeland & Cropland Management Support
Main Issues
Since Europeans settled Kansas about 150 years ago, the state’s prairies, forests, and wetlands have been plowed, cut, drained, grazed, and developed. These activities can change patterns of land use and land cover, with subsequent impacts on native and agricultural plant and animal populations.
Information derived from plant and animal surveys, studies of the status and distribution of endangered, threatened, and rare species, the characterization and identification of natural and agricultural communities, and use of satellite data to identify natural and agricultural conditions in the Great Plains is essential to our understanding of changing land and wildlife resources.
Division Resources & Expertise
KBS faculty and staff performing land and wildlife resources research have expertise in mammal, insect, and plant ecology and population biology; grassland and prairie restoration; biodiversity and wildlife preservation; landscape and global ecology, and agricultural monitoring and assessment.
Division research is supported by the terrestrial research facilities of the University of Kansas Field Station; the agricultural tools and mapping/monitoring capabilities of the Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program; and the species distribution and diversity information gathered by the Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory Program.
Information and Geospatial Technologies Division
- Applied Remote Sensing
- Geographic Information Systems
- Digital Libraries
Main Issues
Data and information management systems are increasingly essential for assessing the condition and changes in natural and agricultural landscapes. The applications of remote sensing technology from satellite platforms, together with geographic information systems used to organize and combine information from diverse sources, provide new state-of-the-art tools for studying and managing ecological and agricultural resources.
Information and data about land use and land cover, wildlife habitat, rangeland condition, and the condition of agricultural and natural communities provide new options for monitoring and evaluating biological and ecological resources.
