Annual Report 2024

This year, I reflect on all we do for Kansas.

The Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research is a non-regulatory state agency and a designated research center at KU. Here, researchers of all levels, along with support staff, contribute to our dual mission of providing critical scientific study and important services to Kansas.

We are a unique research community: Our scientific inquiry is driven by the need to fill knowledge gaps in biology, ecology and ecosystem science, and to develop leading-edge geospatial modeling tools and applications—but each of our scientists conducts research in Kansas, with impacts on the state’s environment in mind.

Our research expertise on plant-soil-microbe interactions is applied to reducing agricultural inputs, testing nature-based agricultural practices, enhancing soil health, improving nutrient concentrations in vegetables, and conferring drought tolerance in forage crops and a native grass in Kansas. Understanding forest ecosystems also has become more important in Kansas as the “green glacier” of woody plants expands at the expense of grassland. Our scientists, working with Kansas State University researchers, are exploring the deep, lasting effects of woody roots on altering water storage and flow pathways.

We also hold long-standing relationships with other state agencies to address issues facing Kansans. With funding from the Kansas Water Office, we continue to study historic drivers of harmful algal blooms; this year we deployed water quality monitoring buoys in two Kansas reservoirs to anticipate blooms and help municipalities prepare to treat drinking water. The Kansas Water Office also supported our work to develop and improve flood mapping models used for emergency response. Our GIS support services for the Kansas Dept. of Wildlife and Parks created an interactive dashboard for a wide variety of information about deer.

I am proud of our center’s accomplishments in 2024. I believe that our work and impact will continue through uncertainty because Kansans persevere: Ad astra per aspera.