National Wind Erosion Research Network
Status
Retired
Location
The Nancy’s Gulch Wind Erosion Research Network site is managed by the USDA-ARS Northwest Watershed Research Center (NWRC) and is part of the Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network. The site is located within the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed (43.1704°, -116.7127°) in the Northern Great Basin approximately 50 miles southwest of Boise, Idaho. The site elevation is 1,404 m above sea level.
Climate
The Nancy’s Gulch site is representative of a semi-arid continental climate. Around 300 mm of precipitation falls at the site each year and the mean annual temperature is 9.2 °C. A meteorological station, located 200 meters south of the site, measures air temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind speed and direction, incoming solar radiation, and soil characteristics. Additionally, the adjacent Wyoming big sagebrush Ameriflux Eddy Covariance site (US-Rws) measures atmospheric vapor and carbon exchange (link).
Vegetation and soil
The primary vegetation at the site consists of Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle & Young) and secondary populations of native bunchgrasses. The surface soil at the site has a silt loam texture. The soils are a Gariper silt loam, classified as fine, montmorillonitic, mesic Xerollic Paleargid.
Management
Located on BLM-managed land, Nancy’s Gulch experiences light cattle grazing in the summer and is a habitat for the greater sage-grouse.
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