KBS LTER

Kellogg Biological Station | Long-Term Ecological Research

Follow us on instagramFollow us on blueskyOpen the Aglogview current local weather
  • Home
  • ABOUT
    • KBS LTER PROGRAM
    • PROJECT HISTORY
    • PEOPLE
    • LTER NETWORK
    • IN THE NEWS
  • RESEARCH
    • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
      • CLIMATE CHANGE
      • LANDSCAPE DIVERSITY
      • SOIL MICROBES
      • CLEAN WATER
    • AREAS OF RESEARCH
      • AGRONOMY
      • MICROBIAL ECOLOGY
      • PLANT DYNAMICS
      • INSECT DYNAMICS
      • BIOGEOCHEMISTRY
      • REGIONALIZATION
      • ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
      • BIOFUELS
    • LONG-TERM EXPERIMENTS
    • SITE DESCRIPTION AND MAPS
      • LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
      • SITE DESCRIPTION
      • SITE HISTORY
      • SOIL DESCRIPTION
      • PLOT LAYOUTS
      • THEMATIC MAPS
    • PUBLICATIONS
      • ALL PUBLICATIONS
      • PUBLICATIONS BY EXPERIMENT
      • DISSERTATIONS only
      • SYNTHESIS BOOK only
      • SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS
      • PUBLICATION DATASETS
      • LTER MEETING ABSTRACTS
  • DATA
    • DATA CATALOG
    • RESEARCH PROTOCOLS
    • AIRPHOTOS
    • SATELLITE IMAGERY
    • GIS DATA
    • TERMS OF USE
    • DATA SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
  • WORK WITH US
    • CONDUCTING RESEARCH
      • RESEARCH FACILITIES
      • SITE USE POLICY/FORMS
      • ASSOCIATED PROJECTS
    • COLLABORATE
    • GRAD OPPORTUNITIES & FUNDING
    • NEW RESEARCHERS AND STUDENTS
    • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
    • JOB OPENINGS
  • PUBLIC PROGRAMS
    • K-12 PARTNERSHIP
    • DATA NUGGETS
    • MiSTRIPS
    • ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE
    • FIELD TRIPS AND TOURS
    • RESOURCES
  • PHOTOS
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT US

Phil Robertson elected to National Academy of Sciences for work in sustainable agriculture

5.13.25

Dr. Phil Robertson

Dr. Phil Robertson, Director of the KBS LTER from 1988 to 2017, and Michigan State University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors for a scientist in the U.S. Original article through MSU here. Phil Robertson, Ph. D., a University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University (MSU) in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the highest honors for a scientist in the United

Read More

Collaborative study with Michigan DNR to support agriculture and conservation

4.8.25

Nick, Mike, and Don standing with prairie seeds in bags on a pallet.

Investigators at the KBS LTER are working with Michigan Department of Natural Resources staff to determine how replacing under-yielding areas of croplands with native perennial plants can improve biodiversity and ecosystem services while having the lowest loss in agricultural production. The study represents co-production of knowledge through identifying shared goals and questions, and a great opportunity to scale up long term ecological knowledge generated at the LTER to the farm scale. Agricultural landscapes represent a balancing act between different interests and goals. These lands

Read More

Prairie strips: a refuge in an agricultural desert or an ecological trap for native pollinators?

2.17.25

Graduate research from the LTER shows that prairie strips planted within agricultural monocrops are not an “ecological trap”  for native pollinators - but they also don’t reduce insecticide runoff that may pose a threat. Agriculture is essential, but the lack of biodiversity in farmland can create ecological barrens. Prairie strips - the long, thin strips of tallgrass prairie vegetation planted adjacent to agriculture - have potential to bring ecosystem services into agricultural spaces, such as increased pollination, enhanced microbial diversity, and containment of nutrient

Read More

Graduate research from the KBS LTER explores grassland resilience to climate change

1.28.25

Two decades of data on plant communities and weather from the LTER Main Cropping Systems Experiment show that extreme dry and wet years reduce species richness (the number of species) but increase evenness (how evenly abundant the species are). Because richness and evenness also increase long-term stability and resistance to extreme precipitation events, these changes to communities might have long-lasting effects on the resilience of plant communities to the increasingly variable precipitation patterns expected in the future. While the focus of climate change is often on warming

Read More

Award-winning graduate research highlights previously unrecorded benefits of prairie strips

1.15.25

Three years of butterfly surveys across the LTER Main Cropping Systems Experiment show that agricultural plots where 5% of cropland was converted to prairie harbor unique species and have a greater abundance of butterflies than plots without prairie. This work earned Lindsey Kemmerling, who completed her Ph.D. studies at W.K. Kellogg Biological Station in the Haddad Lab, the 2023 Royal Entomological Society Journal Award. As agriculture increases in intensity across the U.S., finding ways to conserve ecological systems while supporting crop production has become critical. Keeping native

Read More

Using community-engaged scholarship to address conservation barriers in rural Michigan croplands 

12.18.24

Cindy Fiser in front of a prairie strip, surrounded by a corn field.

Cynthia Fiser is a PhD candidate in the Landis Lab at Michigan State University, Department of Entomology and a 2024 KBS Broader Impacts Fellow. Her research looks at the ecological and social impacts of perennial prairie strips in row crop agriculture.  Change starts with people. Grassroots efforts that encourage people to learn, adapt, and share with others can help facilitate both community and individual capacity building. In the academic community, we pride ourselves that we know what the problems are, and it is our research that will be the solution. However,

Read More

New prairie strip partial budget tool from MiSTRIPS team

6.13.24

Conservation practices require a significant investment in time and money. There are often large implementation costs, learning curves, and labor required, all of which might prevent farmers and landowners from being able to adopt these practices. Additionally, when there are no tangible payments or products, the financial benefits may seem invisible. Yet, conservation practices provide many benefits to the cropping system, often by improving soil health, protecting water quality, and increasing yield stability. Because of this, farmers are often eligible for payments which can offset or even

Read More

Buchanan students visit KBS LTER and Kellogg Bird Sanctuary with RET Melissa Frost

11.30.23

Nameer Baker and students in the LTER, viewing prairie strips.

Throughout 2022 and 2023, Melissa Frost, biology and chemistry teacher at Buchanan High School, joined the KBS LTER through our Research Experience for Teacher (RET) program. The NSF-funded RET program partners teachers with scientists to assist in ongoing research in the lab, as well as providing the teacher the opportunity to develop their own research project. Melissa joined Sarah Evan's lab, and worked with scientists Jennifer Jones and Caitlin Broderick. Melissa embraced the RET as a chance to integrate more research and data into her teaching. "Participating in a RET program allowed

Read More

2023 KBS LTER Artist-in-Residence set for June 12-18

6.12.23

A Kalamazoo woodcut printmaker and teacher is the 2023 Artist-in-Residence for Michigan State University’s W.K. Kellogg Biological Station in Hickory Corners, Michigan. Launched by MSU in Summer 2022 in an effort to promote art and science collaborations, the Farmscapes to Forests: Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Artist-in-Residence Program is now in its second year and will host Trevor Grabill from Flat Mountain Press June 12-18 as the 2023 Artist-in-Residence. According to Gretel Van Wieren, Professor of Religious

Read More

Long-time collaborator with KBS, Dean Baas, recognized as NRC-SARE Hero

6.6.23

Dean Baas: NCR-SARE Hero Coordinated by the NCR-SARE Alumni Organization, the term “NCR-SARE Hero” recognizes the leadership, vision, contributions, and impact that individuals have made in the field of sustainable agriculture in the region.  Dean Baas’ academic training started at Michigan State University (MSU), where he received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering. Baas worked for 20 years with the Kellogg Company in Battle Creek, Michigan, in technical/management positions, before returning to MSU to undertake a doctorate in environmental geosciences and biosystems

Read More

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • Next Page »

Recent News and Events

  • New research leverages long-term treatments in novel ways to study plant biotic interactions
  • Announcing the 2025 KBS LTER Artists-in-Residence!
  • Graduate research from the KBS LTER reveals the value of soil microbe diversity for sustainable agriculture
  • Science Communication and Data Literacy: Reflections on My Fellowship with Data Nuggets 
  • Now & Then: An evening with KBS LTER Artist-in-Residence, Erica Bradshaw

Blog Categories

  • Education and Outreach News
  • Events
  • Research News

Copyright © 2025 Michigan State University Board of Trustees | East Lansing, MI | 48824

  • LEGAL
  • MSU HOME
  • SITEMAP
  • RSS
  • EMAIL