Linking students with stakeholders to restore degraded North American agricultural grasslands
There are growing concerns over the severely degraded condition of soils globally. Rangeland managers, farmers and conservation groups alike are looking for guidance on the best strategies to revive the soils across North American grasslands. Soils in “Old-Growth” Grasslands (OGGs) can serve as the natural benchmarks that land managers need to do this work.
This project team is building an integrated research, education and outreach program to inventory the comprehensive health of soils from OGGs. Data on soil health of OGG remnants, as well as plant communities, are being integrated into an interactive, mapping-based website for use as a key outreach tool. In spring 2024, 12 students are learning about ecosystem restoration and conducting mini-research projects focused on different aspects of the OGG project in a special topics course, as well as assisting in the development of OGG outreach workshops.
A subset of students will join the team in the summer 2024 to conduct workshops, engaging directly with ranchers, farmers and other land managers on improving soil health and agland resiliency across the Great Plains.
Linking students with stakeholders to restore degraded North American agricultural grasslands
There are growing concerns over the severely degraded condition of soils globally. Rangeland managers, farmers and conservation groups alike are looking for guidance on the best strategies to revive the soils across North American grasslands. Soils in “Old-Growth” Grasslands (OGGs) can serve as the natural benchmarks that land managers need to do this work.
This project team is building an integrated research, education and outreach program to inventory the comprehensive health of soils from OGGs. Data on soil health of OGG remnants, as well as plant communities, are being integrated into an interactive, mapping-based website for use as a key outreach tool. In spring 2024, 12 students are learning about ecosystem restoration and conducting mini-research projects focused on different aspects of the OGG project in a special topics course, as well as assisting in the development of OGG outreach workshops.
A subset of students will join the team in the summer 2024 to conduct workshops, engaging directly with ranchers, farmers and other land managers on improving soil health and agland resiliency across the Great Plains.
- Rebecca Schneider, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Stephen Morreale, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Community partner: Central Grasslands Roadmap
Funding to increase and sustain undergraduate involvement in community-engaged research