Carbon and water relations in perennial Kernza (Thinopyrum intermedium): An overview
Abstract: Perennial crops have been proposed as a more sustainable alternative to annual crops, because they have extended growing seasons, continuous ground cover, reduced nutrient leakage, and sequester more carbon…
Cover crop species affect mycorrhizae-mediated nutrient uptake and pest resistance in maize
Abstract: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can increase plant nutrient uptake and chemical defense production, both of which can improve plants’ ability to resist insect herbivory. Cover crops—non-commercial species planted in…
Reduced nitrate leaching in a perennial grain crop compared to maize in the Upper Midwest, USA
Abstract: Global expansion of high-input annual grain crops and associated nitrogen (N) fertilizer use can have negative consequences for the environment and human health. Nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) leaching from fertilized…
Managing Crops for Climate Change Can Also Manage Pests
The impacts of climate change are already being felt by farmers in many parts of the world. As such, it is important for us to determine which strategies may help…
Energy, water and carbon exchange over a perennial Kernza wheatgrass crop
Abstract: The ecological impacts resulting from global warming and conventional agricultural practices are predicted to affect crop productivity and reduce the land area available for agriculture in the near future….
Closing the Gap Between Grasslands and Grain Agriculture
Grasslands are among the biomes that have been most extensively degraded or eliminated by the expansion of agriculture. Grasslands are also threatened by development, poor management, and climate change. This…
Potential conservation of biomass in the production of synthetic organics
Abstract: Hydrocarbon intermediates typical of the chemical industry are an inefficient route for the production of synthetic organics from biomass. This is demonstrated by stoichiometric calculations of mass losses of…
From genomes to ecosystems to human communities
Abstract: Genomes can be regarded as miniature ecosystems which display many of the same characteristics as that of a prairie or forest ecosystem. Human communities may likewise have characteristics common…
Composition of prairie plant communities on productive versus unproductive sites in wet and dry years
The diverse community structure and different types of resource use by plant species contribute to the persistence and resilience of the prairie ecosystem. Download PDF
The Necessary Marriage Between Ecology and Agriculture
Our subject here is “the problem of agriculture” not “problems in agriculture.” We proceed with the assumption that problems in agriculture are primarily derivatives of the problem of agriculture. Download…
Living Nets in a New Prairie Sea
Author Joseph Kinsey Howard describes a spring day in 1883 in North Dakota when John Christiansen, a Scandinavian farmer, looked up while plowing a field to discover an old Sioux…