Tag Archives: science

16Apr/25

Leveraging Geoinformatics to Enhance Soil and Agroecosystem Sustainability

This digital cafe features Siddhartho Shekhar Paul, Assistant Professor of Geospatial Science at Purdue University. Dr. Paul shares his research into enhancing soil and agroecosystem sustainability using geoinformatics. This webinar was originally broadcasted April 16, 2025.Read More…

18Dec/24

Grazing’s impact on soil health in integrated crop and livestock systems

In this edition of the Soil Health Nexus Digital Café we hear from Alyssa Hall, Ph.D. student at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as she shares her results studying the impact of integrating grazing livestock into cropping systemsRead More…

16Oct/24

Drought Preparedness and Adaptation

While many of us have been drought-free this spring and early summer, the summer heat and dry conditions have led to the return of drought, particularly across portions of the Ohio River Basin. Parts of Ohio are now seeing the worst drought since 1988 and parts of Great Plains are in multi-year droughts. This webinar is a collaboration of The Current Webinar Series and the Soil Health Nexus Digital Café and featured professionals in Kansas, Minnesota and Ohio discussing how producers in their state are preparing and adapting to drought, whether they are currently facing dry conditions or not. This webinar was originally broadcasted October 17, 2024.

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17Jul/24

Activating the soil starts at the surface

Conservation management brings soil to life. Measuring these changes in soil life can be simple and yet robust as indicators of key soil functions. This Digital Café featured Alan Franzluebbers, Ecologist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, who described how soil-test biological activity can indicate improved soil health. This webinar was originally broadcasted July 17, 2024.

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21Feb/24

Soil Microbial Biodiversity in Field Crops

The February Soil Health Digital Café featured Benjamin Agyei-Kwado, graduate student in cropping systems agronomy at Michigan State University, and Eric Anderson, Michigan State Extension Field Crops Educator, who discussed their work on soil microbial biodiversity in field crops. This presentation was originally broadcast on February 21, 2024.

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18Oct/23

Bioenergy crop Miscanthus x giganteus acts as an ecosystem engineer to increase bacterial diversity and soil organic matter on marginal land

In this edition of the Digital Café series, we hear from Dr. Zac Freedman, Assistant Professor of Soil Microbiology and O.N. Allen Professor of Soil Microbiology at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. This presentation was originally broadcast on Wednesday, October 18, 2023.

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19Jul/23

State of the Soils: A soil health assessment across Washington’s diverse soils and systems

This edition of the Soil Health Nexus Digital Café series featured Dr. Deirdre Griffin LaHue, Assistant Professor of Soil Health and Sustainable Soil Management at Washington State University. Dr. LaHue discusses the Washington State of the Soils Assessment Project and the Washington Soil Health Initiative, preliminary findings, challenges, and next steps. This presentation was originally broadcast on Wednesday, July 19, 2023.

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28Apr/23

New Whitepaper Explores the Connection between Soil Health and Water Quality

The Soil Health Nexus is excited to debut two new resources on the Soil Health Toolbox! Two Soil Health Nexus members, Francisco Arriaga, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Anna Cates, Assistant Professor and State Soil Health Specialist at the University of Minnesota, recently published a long-awaited whitepaper exploring the connection between soil health and water quality.

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19Apr/23

Top 10 Impacts of Cover Crops for Soil Health

This Digital Café features Dr. Rob Myers, Director of the University of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture and also Regional Director of Extension Programs for NCR-SARE, discussed several of the key ways that cover crops can improve soil health. These factors include nutrient cycling, soil organic matter, rainfall infiltration, addressing soil compaction, aggregate stability and impacts on earthworms, mycorrhizal fungi, and other aspects of soil biology. This presentation was originally broadcast on Wednesday, April 19, 2023.

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