Research highlights 2023

While our research center may be most often associated with studies related to prairies and grasslands, the range of topics extends far beyond this ecosystem, involves collaborators from many other institutions, and is in some cases focused on vast datasets. Survey research falls under three broad, often intersecting categories: terrestrial, aquatic and GIS/analytical studies.

Actively funded projects in 2023 totaled 82. Publications included 49 in peer-reviewed journals, as well as two Kansas Biological Survey reports, bringing the total in the ongoing series to 212. For a complete list of projects, see our searchable, up-to-date roster of publications and grants.

Here are a few highlights from the year’s research activities:

A paper co-authored by Ted Harris, assistant research professor, “Geographic redistribution of microcystin hotspots in response to climate warming,” was featured on the October cover of the journal Nature Water with a photo taken by Ted. KU News released a story about the research, and KCUR 89.3 FM (NPR) also published a story about the research findings and their implications for this region.

Maggie Wagner, assistant scientist and assistant professor of ecology & evolutionary biology, published the paper “Interactions with fungi vary among Tripsacum dactyloides genotypes from across a precipitation gradient in the Oxford University Press journal AoB  (Annals of Botany) Plants. The research was led by Ceyda Kural, a Ph.D. candidate in Maggie’s lab. Using Eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides) as a study system, Ceyda showed that genotypes originating in dry locations tend to have higher rates of fungal colonization in their roots, relative to genotypes from locations with higher precipitation.

KansasView was awarded another year of funding through AmericaView; this will provide for the use of remote sensing to address woody encroachment issues in Kansas. Dana Peterson, assistant research professor, is the principal investigator and coordinator of KansasView, our state’s member of AmericaView, a university-led, state-based nationwide consortium of members across 41 states who work to advance the use of remote sensing data and technology in the public and private sectors. The funding award for KansasView was part of a $1.47 million grant to AmericaView from the U.S. Geological Survey as part of its National Land Remote Sensing Education, Outreach and Research Activity grant program.

Laura Podzikowski, a 2023 KU graduate in doctoral program in ecology & evolutionary biology, and mentored by the Bever/Schultz Lab, was awarded a two-year, $225,000 USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant, which funds her postdoctoral research program in the Billings Lab. The project title is “Plant community composition, diversity and precipitation effects on carbon retention and loss in grassland soils.” Laura continues to collaborate with her colleagues in the Bever/Schultz Lab.

Micah Unruh, doctoral candidate in theBillings Lab, received a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Award during the fall 2023 semester. He was awarded $41,000 to travel to Chile to research soil carbon storage. KU News released a story about the awards.

Sharon Billings published the paper “Root distributions, precipitation, and soil structure converge to govern soil organic carbon depth distributions” in the journal Geoderma. This research shows how agriculture can impose big differences in soil structure far deeper than the plow layer (first author is Lígia Souza, a former graduate student in the Billings Lab, with co-authors Terry Loecke, associate scientist and associate professor, and Aoesta Rudick, research project manager).