KBS LTER volunteer and retired journalist Bill Krasean reports on new tools we are using to measure greenhouse gases from agricultural lands. His piece was published today in the National LTER Newsletter and reprinted here. When the plants and microbes exhale on the 1,700-acre W. K. Kellogg Biological Station’s hundreds of plots, Sven Bohm, Kevin Kahmark and a team of fellow researchers sniff their breath. Not literally, of course. Rather, using the latest and fastest instruments and software -- much of it based on their own ingenuity -- the team continually samples and analyzes gases
New tools to measure greenhouse gases
2013 KBS LTER All Scientist Meeting
The focus of this year’s KBS LTER annual All Scientist Meeting is science communication, a topic of increasing importance in this socio-political climate. In the morning we will have research updates from our lead scientists and a keynote address from Arthur Lupia, entitled, "Communicating Science in Politicized Environments: Lessons from the Study of Attention, Elaboration, and Source Credibility". We’ve also recruited communication advisors who will help us brainstorm creative, effective ways to communicate our science to the following groups: interested citizens (Dave
Graduate Student Spotlight – Megan Woltz
Name: J. Megan Woltz Hometown: Afton, NC Degree: Ph.D. Candidate in Entomology & Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior, Michigan State University Dissertation advisor: Professor Doug Landis, Department of Entomology, MSU Graduate Research Focus: As a landscape agroecologist, I am primarily interested in understanding how landscape heterogeneity influences the provision of ecosystem services in agroecosystems. In other words, I want to know how the way we design the landscapes around us affects things that we humans care about, such as clean water, wildlife habitat, and air
KBS LTER Graduate Fellowships for 2013
The KBS LTER Graduate Fellowship provides stipend support ($30,000) plus tuition and fees for one year beginning each May. Additional funds (up to $5,000) are available for travel and meeting expenses. The fellowship is open to prospective graduate students or current MSU PhD students who are interested in or currently conducting research in association with the KBS Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) Program (lter.kbs.msu.edu ). For more details click here >>.
LTER Math Science Partnership in its final year
For the last five years, KBS K-12 Partnership teachers have been participating in a unique program that involves teachers, scientists, and educators at four LTER sites around the country. The goal is to promote environmental science literacy through the frame of learning progressions. In other words, the project has conducted research about how students make sense of important environmental issues and used that research to help teachers work more effectively with their students about these issues. This program – the LTER Math Science Partnership (MSP) – is a collaboration between four LTER
Nature paper highlights KBS LTER long-term data sets
KBS LTER scientists published a paper in the journal Nature today showing how lands that are unsuited for food crops - called marginal lands - can help to meet our nation's alternative energy production goals. By using over 20 years of KBS LTER data, coupled with innovative modeling techniques, the researchers documented that marginal lands can contribute greatly to transportation energy needs while providing climate and conservation benefits. Read more about this research from MSU News and from the National Science Foundation.
KBS LTER participates in Carbon, Energy and Climate Conference
Last fall, the KBS LTER had an exciting opportunity to collaborate with the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, or NCR-SARE, program to address issues related to agriculture and global change. An extensive, 2 ½ day Carbon, Energy and Climate Conference was held on September 26-28, 2012 at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS). NCR-SARE is organizing a two-year professional development and training initiative around carbon, climate and energy issues, and September’s conference launched the initiative. One-hundred and thirty-three speakers and participants
KBS GK-12 Fellowship Announcement for 2013-2014
The KBS GK-12 Bioenergy Sustainability Project is accepting applications for graduate student fellowships for 2013-14. This graduate training project is funded by grant from the NSF Division of Graduate Education. Fellowships are intended for students who have completed at least their first year of graduate coursework.
KBS LTER scientist interviewed following Gov. Synder’s visit to KBS
KBS LTER scientist Steve Hamilton was interviewed after Michigan's Governor Rick Synder visited the Kellogg Biological Station today to address the state on energy and the environment "Gov. Rick Snyder's speech on energy and the environment was on the "net positive side of the ledger" and "overall good" according to Steve Hamilton, a professor of aquatic ecology at Michigan State University's Kellogg Biological Station in Hickory Corners. Snyder delivered his address on energy and the environment Wednesday morning at the biological station, laying out how he wants the state to move with its
KBS LTER scientist wins photo contest
This September, hundreds of LTER scientists from around the world gathered in Estes Park, CO for the 2012 All Scientists Meeting (ASM). Over 750 LTER scientists, staff, and students were in attendance. ASM wasn’t all work and no play. In addition to the engaging plenary talks and working group sessions, participants took part in fun-filled activities, including trivia and photo contests. Dr. Sarah Placella, a research associate from the KBS LTER, was the overall winner of the ASM Photo Contest. With the help of KBS LTER graduate student Leah Harris, along with LTER colleagues from sites