Agriculture + ecology: Research at the Food, Energy

& Water NexusSteve Hamilton

hamilton@msu.edu

January 14, 2016

National Council for Science and the Environment

Leveraging existing investments: The Kellogg Biological Station LTER NSF-funded long-term ecological

research• Funded for past 25 years; now at ~$1m/year

Provides a platform for diverse research generally funded by additional grants• Long-term experiments, core measurements,

sample and data archiving, technical assistance Since 2010 the KBS LTER has

generated:• 88 separately funded projects (33 through MSU)• $58m in IDC to MSU (including $23m as part of

GLBRC)

KBS LTER: Core Question

Main Cropping System Experiment

•Conventional•No Till•Reduced input•Biologically Based

Perennial CropsAnnual Crops

(Corn-Soybean-Wheat)Successional &

Reference Communities•Forage (alfalfa)•Bioenergy (Poplar)•Coniferous tree plantations

•Mown grassland•Early successional•Mid-successional•Mature deciduous forest

Can we manage field crops with biology rather than chemistry to conserve and enhance ecosystem services?

Food, fiber, and fuel production

Climate regulation

Soil and water protection

Pollination & pest regulation

Biodiversity

KBS LTER conceptual framework

KBS LTER FEW Supplement

Example of leveraging Recently funded by NSF

for 2015-17 ($386k) Implications of

expanding irrigation• Surface-groundwater

interactions, water quality, global warming impact

• Incl. Dave Hyndman, Bruno Basso, Anthony Kendall (GLG)

Work both on and off site

Examples of potential FEW research areas in agroecology at MSU

Sustainability of agricultural water use• Irrigation impacts on groundwater, ecohydrology,

local climate, recreation and aesthetics, etc.• Full-cost accounting of global warming impact

Future scenarios of land use and cover• Food vs. bioenergy• Landscape design to protect water resources and

enhance ecosystem services Climate variability and change

• Projecting changes and planning adaptation• Designing resilient production systems and encouraging

their adoption