Nebraska: An Ecosystem in Harmony | Heuermann Lectures

November 25, 2019 - 3:30 pm CST
Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center
2021 Transformation Drive, Lincoln

Agricultural production must increase more than 70% by 2050 to meet the global demand for food, fuel, feed and fiber. Meeting this goal will require far-reaching growth in agriculture, more efficient use of marginal lands and new methods to deal with extreme weather, soil degradation and biological invasions. Strategies for achieving these advances while preserving Nebraska’s healthy agricultural ecosystems are discussed by panelists Craig Allen, professor at the School of Natural Resources, Andrea Basche, assistant professor in department of Agronomy and Horticulture, and Michael Forsberg, co-founder of the Platte Basin Timelapse Project and professor of practice in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication. The panel is moderated by Martha Mamo, head of the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture and John Carroll, director of the School of Natural Resources.

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Lecture Guest

Craig Allen

Rsch Professor

Craig is most interested in understanding the links between land use or land cover change, biological invasions and extinctions. He conduct both applied and theoretical research on the impacts and predictions of invasions, and hope to continue a focus on invasive species in Nebraska, using empirical, experimental and spatial tools. He also interested in how invasions can affect the resilience of ecosystems and other complex systems and also sits on the Board of Directors for the Resilience Alliance.

Andrea Basche

Assoc Professor

Andrea Basche's research relates to cropping systems challenges in Nebraska, including soil health related management practices, cover crop management, and the impact of cropping systems on water quality. Basche currently works with 17 on-farm research partners through the Soil Health Initiative and continues to explore how soil health related management can offset risk related to flooding.

Michael Forsberg

Rsch Asst Professor

I first started working with the UNL in 2011 when my friend and colleague Michael Farrell and I co-founded Platte Basin Timelapse ( www.plattebasintimelapse.com), a long-term documentary project that leverages the power of photography and storytelling to braid together stories connected to water and watersheds here in Nebraska and beyond. The Platte Basin has been both a perfect stage and a learning laboratory for the project, and as we approach our 10-year anniversary in 2021, PBT has moved to the School of Natural Resources and we couldn’t be more excited to join the SNR team.

Looking forward, I’m very interested in continuing our storytelling work where the land serves as our classroom. Where our students, faculty and staff can pull up the straight lines on a map and explore our landscapes as watersheds, investigate the connectivity of wildlife movements and migrations, see the intersection of ecology and economy, better understand the resiliency of the land and working landscapes, and building community by finding common ground. Together, I hope we can evolve a program that propels conservation and science communication forward, and grow the next generation of conservation storytellers.