Author
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Reeves, Donald |
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Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 9/4/2008 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: The value of long-term ecological and agricultural experiments is often not recognized until their pioneering initiators are long dead. In times of decreasing resources for agricultural research, it has become increasingly difficult to sustain existing long-term studies, much less initiate new ones. An ARS scientist at the J. Phil Campbell Sr. Natural Resource Conservation Service in Watkinsville, GA presented an overview at an international workshop of the value of and need for long-term agricultural research, as well as suggestions for making long-term research more ‘value-added’ to justify their existence for public support. Successful long-term research must address major issues that impact society and are important to the public. An example of this is the use of long-term studies to model ecosystem sustainability and carbon sequestration in order to develop strategies that minimize potential consequences of global change. Long-term experiments can effectively be coupled to research from small scale studies of ‘ecosystem slices’, called Ecotrons, and to computer models that simulate impacts of change on ecosystems. The results of this strategy can lead to sound decision aides for scientists, action agencies, and policy makers to use to prepare for global change. Technical Abstract: The value of long-term ecological and agricultural experiments is often not recognized until their pioneering initiators are long dead. In times of decreasing resources for agricultural research, it has become increasingly difficult to sustain existing long-term studies, much less initiate new ones. An ARS scientist at the J. Phil Campbell Sr. Natural Resource Conservation Service in Watkinsville, GA presented an overview at an international workshop of the value of and need for long-term agricultural research, as well as suggestions for making long-term research more ‘value-added’ to justify their existence for public support. Successful long-term research must address major issues that impact society and are important to the public. An example of this is the use of long-term studies to model ecosystem sustainability and carbon sequestration in order to develop strategies that minimize potential consequences of global change. Long-term experiments can effectively be coupled to research from small scale studies of ‘ecosystem slices’, called Ecotrons, and to computer models that simulate impacts of change on ecosystems. The results of this strategy can lead to sound decision aides for scientists, action agencies, and policy makers to use to prepare for global change. |
