Research highlights 2025

Our research falls into three broad, often intersecting categories: terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and GIS/analytical studies. We work with collaborators in Kansas and across the world, with some studies based on vast datasets. Much of our research connects with land use, and most addresses issues of concern in Kansas while being broadly applicable.

Here are a few examples of our research projects published or newly funded in 2025:

• AI-based crop analytics and forecasting: A $100,000 grant from the Kansas Dept. of Agriculture for the project "Developing AI-based crop and water analytics and high-resolution yield forecasting services for the Kansas agricultural community" supports the use of remote sensing imagery and other GIS data to develop pre-harvest potential yield diagnostics in support of Kansas farmers’ sub-field crop management decisions, enabling more optimal use of irrigation and other inputs. Leading the study are Dan Reuman, senior scientist and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and Jude Kastens, research professor.
   
• Benefits of plant species diversity: Six years into an ongoing study at the KU Field Station, researchers have the data to show that species diversity both drives growth and sustains the health of species-diverse ecosystems over time, functioning somewhat like an immune system. Study results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; the lead author is Laura Podzikowski, postdoctoral researcher. The research is funded by the National Science Foundation and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis.  
   
• Drought tolerance in corn: A $69,442, Kansas Dept. of Agriculture for the project "Microbial interactions contributing to drought responses of corn and eastern gamagrass" aims to accelerate the use of beneficial microbes to alleviate drought stress in corn, which uses more water than any other crop due to the massive production scale. Even modest improvements to corn drought tolerance would generate substantial water savings. Maggie Wagner, associate scientist and associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, leads the study.
   
• Effects of root disturbance on deep soil: Using data from across the U.S., researchers found soil structure differences, well below the plow line, between undisturbed areas and those where crops had replaced more deeply rooted vegetation. These changes can affect water flow, carbon storage and the underground movement of nutrients. The work highlights the need to consider dynamic deep soil structure, given rapid change in land use and climate, in scientific modeling of climates and ecosystems. The study was published in the journal Earth’s Future by Sharon Billings, senior scientist and University Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and by Annalise Guthrie, graduate student, and colleagues.