Post by Cynthia Fiser, graduate student in Doug Landis’s lab in the Michigan State University Department of Entomology and 2024 Broader Impacts Fellow. Her research looks at the impact of perennial prairie strips on the dispersal of ground beetles in row crop agriculture. Broader impacts, the practical component or long-term goal of most research projects, are often delegated to the final section of a grant proposal, paper, or presentation. However, broader impacts are front and center to successful research at Michigan State University’s Kellogg Biological Station. The
Good Neighbors: An evening with KBS LTER Artist-in-Residence, Trevor Grabill
On the evening of Friday, July 19th, over 50 members of the public and Kellogg Biological Station community joined us for an evening exploring the intersection of art and science. The Good Neighbors event took place at the Overlook Building in the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, and featured new work by Kalamazoo printmaker and 2023 KBS LTER artist-in-residence, Trevor Grabill. Trevor shared woodcut prints inspired by their time spent learning about ongoing research at the biological station. Attendees enjoyed refreshments, mingling, and a chance to meet with the artist and
New prairie strip partial budget tool from MiSTRIPS team
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
KBS LTER welcomes Erica Bradshaw as our 2024 Artist in Residence
A Kalamazoo-area author, illustrator and muralist is the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station Long-term Ecological Research program’s 2024 Artist-in-Residence. Erica Bradshaw, the owner of To Draw Attention Illustration, arrived at KBS May 20 and spent a week visiting labs and field sites and learning about research that’s underway at the Station. Erica Bradshaw A lifelong artist who had their first piece exhibited at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts in second grade, Erica earned a bachelor’s degree from Kendall College of Art and Design in 2021, and is now a full-time
KBS LTER Scientists, Robertson and Sprunger, named 2024 ESA Fellows
The Ecological Society of America has announced its 2024 Fellows, with Drs. Phil Robertson and Christine Sprunger of the KBS LTER amongst the members. The Society’s fellowship program recognizes the many ways in which its members contribute to ecological research, communication, education, management and policy. This year, the ESA Governing Board has confirmed nine new Fellows and ten new Early Career Fellows. Fellows are members who have made outstanding contributions to a wide range of fields served by ESA, including, but not restricted to, those that advance or apply ecological
Melissa Frost, KBS LTER RET, named Michigan Department of Education’s Region 7 Teacher of the Year!
BUCHANAN, MI - Buchanan Community Schools proudly announces that Melissa Frost, esteemed educator and dedicated science teacher of Buchanan High School, has been honored as the Michigan Department of Education’s Region 7 Teacher of the Year for the academic year 2024-2025. The Teacher of the Year program, organized by the Michigan Department of Education, aims to recognize and celebrate outstanding educators who demonstrate exemplary dedication to their profession and make significant contributions to the field of education. Melissa Frost exemplifies these qualities through her unwavering
Drought effect on pore structure in soils: Reflections from an LTER Fellow
Goutham Thotakuri is a graduate student in the Kravchenko lab at Michigan State University. His research is focused on the study of carbon transfer between various cover crop species and soil carbon sequestration. Recent changes to our climate dynamics have brought on alarming drought conditions in many parts of the world. Since we cannot control the climate, we need to prepare our agricultural systems for adversity. One way to do this is through understanding the soil's hydro-physical and biochemical processes. We can identify critical factors influencing drought resilience by
Exploring the effects of multiple crises on the global food trade system: Reflections from an LTER Fellow
Nan Jia is a graduate student at Michigan State University's Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, and Environmental Science and Policy Program. Her PhD research seeks to uncover how the multiple crises affect global food trade system dynamics. She worked closely with Jack (Jianguo) Liu and members of the lab to reveal the impact of different crises on different stages of trade such as production, handling, transportation, and consumption by using production data, trade data, supply chain data, and consumption data. The interactions between
Trials and tribulations of a PhD student: Reflections from an LTER Fellow
Moriah Young is a graduate student at the Kellogg Biological Station and a member of Phoebe Zarnetske's Lab. Her PhD research seeks to understand the effects of climate change on soil biota, plant, and herbivore interactions. Using a combination of field and greenhouse studies, Moriah works to understand the ways in which the composition and structure of soil microbial communities respond to warming and drought, as well as describing the role that the soil microbial community has on plant traits, stress responses, and insect preferences in the presence of warming and drought. I went into
Pools of phosphorus across the LTER: Reflections from an LTER Fellow
Ethan Weinrich is a graduate student in MSU's Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, advised by Sieg Snapp. The Challenge Soils contain the largest pool of phosphorus on Earth. Yet, farmers need to add phosphorus to their fields to help crops grow. This is called the Phosphorus Paradox: there is so much phosphorus in soils, yet plant growth is limited by this nutrient. The tricky part is that most of the phosphorus in soils is locked away in forms not available to plants. How can plants access the phosphorus they need to grow? Phosphorus minerals in soil can be broken
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