Research & Scientific Publications - Page 9
The Land Institute’s work advances research and agricultural scientific knowledge and is conducted in an innovative yet rigorous professional context. Explore our findings and ideas via articles authored or co-authored by members of our staff and published in research and peer-reviewed journals.
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Missing domesticated plant forms: can artificial selection fill the gap?
Perennial grain crops do not exist because they could not have evolved under the original set of conditions; however, they can be deliberately developed today through artificial phenotypic and genotypic…
Harvested perennial grasslands: Ecological models for farming’s perennial future
Humanity’s unprecedented global demand for farm products poses one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity and ecosystem function. This demand will almost certainly increase as the human population continues…
Chapter 1: Crop domestication and the first plant breeders
If the story of modern humans from the beginning to the present day could be compressed into a feature-length movie, the era of crop domestication would occupy a scene approximately…
No-tillage conversion of harvested perennial grasslands to annual cropland reduces root biomass, decreases active carbon stocks, and impacts soil biota
Landscape conversion to agricultural use historically began with tillage, a practice now known to dramatically and often negatively affect soil properties and ecosystem processes in grassland dominated ecosystems. However, converted…
Long-term impacts of high-input annual cropping and unfertilized perennial grass production…
Abstract: Soil ecosystem properties and processes which simultaneously maintain native fertility and sustain plant yields are of principal interest in sustainable agriculture. Native prairies in Kansas are relevant in this…
Harvested perennial grasslands provide ecological benchmarks for agricultural sustainability
Perennial vegetation can provide multiple ecosystem services essential for sustainable production more effectively than production systems based on annual crops. However, the ability of annually harvested, unfertilized perennial systems to…
Agricultural and biofuel implications of a species diversity experiment with native perennial grassland plants
Bicultures including adapted legumes so far appear to be an adequate starting point for plant breeding programs targeting low input perennial production systems. As the science develops, the species developed…
The Necessity and Possibility of an Agriculture Where Nature is the Measure
Conn Nugent, Wes Jackson, David W. Orr, Norman L. Christensen, Jr., and Courtney White each contributed to “Five articles on American land use, agriculture, climate change, forestry and ranching.” Open a PDF of…
Land Institute soil scientist Jerry Glover recognized in “Nature”
This prestigious weekly international journal named Land Institute soil scientist Jerry Glover “one of five crop researchers who could change the world.” Glover and the other four ambitious scientists in…
Shrinking the Agricultural Economy Will Pay Big Dividends
Agriculture can be made supportable in the short term by tightening up the wasteful food economy and protecting nature from the worst impacts of extensive agriculture. But to ensure that…
Ending 10,000 years of conflict between agriculture and nature
Plant breeders have long had difficulty finding their role in organic and sustainable agriculture. Now they have a clear-cut, difficult, but achievable mission laid out: to develop perennial crops that…
Registration of NC06BGTAG12 and NC06BGTAG13 Powdery Mildew– Resistant Wheat Germplasm
Two lines of common winter wheat germplasm, listed below, were developed and released by the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service and the USDA-ARS in 2006 because of their potential to broaden…