South Dakota
Mines is home to a new living laboratory that is located on a hill above the
main campus. This long-term study will help students and the community
understand how vegetation and ground cover impacts soil erosion, water quality,
ecosystems and our shared natural resources.
The study area is a steep exposure of the Belle
Fourche Shale rock formation that had been a problem area for erosion and contained
little-to-no vegetation. The living laboratory includes over 20 small plots in
a grid that have different erosion control treatments, ranging from engineered
products to low-tech solutions such as hay cover or mulch. Each treatment
option was designed and built by undergraduate student researchers with the
assistance of faculty and instructors. The study is funded by the West Dakota Water Development
District (WDWDD). The elected
board is one of seven water development districts in the state, organized for
the purpose of promoting conservation, development and management of resources.
Each year, students in the Department of
Civil and Environmental Engineering will collect data on the treatments laid out in the
living laboratory. Over the coming years, the data collected by students will
help determine how each ground erosion control method impacts the landscape.
Students will have the opportunity to actively participate in this on-going
research effort.
The results can help scientists like Heidi Sieverding
understand more about possible mitigation efforts that can be effective in
reducing erosion and improving soil health in both wet and dry years. Sieverding
is a research scientist in the civil and environmental engineering department
at Mines. “Cost-effective methods to improve water quality and support soil
retention and development are critical to ensuring the continued health of our
ecosystems and communities,” she says.
The living laboratory gives students hands-on
experience in collecting environmental science data, from soil and vegetation
health to erosion. Dr. Bret Lingwall, an associate professor in the Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering at South Dakota Mines, is leading the
project.
“One of the keys to helping engineering students
understand the complexities of the real world is to have places available for
them to see the short and long-term performance of different engineered
interventions. In this project, our sponsors at WDWDD worked closely with us to
develop a place on campus where beneficial research can occur but, more
importantly, provide a space for engineering students to observe how nature may
or may not respond to our interventions. This project will benefit our students
for decades to come,” says Lingwall.