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The Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) Long-Term Ecological Research
(LTER) Site is part of the national LTER Network established by the
U.S. National Science Foundation in 1980. The Network is made up of 20
sites at which long-term research in ecology and environmental biology
provides a better understanding of ecological phenomena in both
natural and managed ecosystems. A broad variety of ecosystems are
represented in the Network, including tundra, forest, grassland,
desert, wetland, and urban sites. KBS joined the network in 1988 to
represent the agricultural or row-crop ecosystem.
Research at the KBS LTER site is directed towards understanding
ecological interactions underlying the productivity of both annual and
perennial field crops. These include corn, soybean, and wheat
rotations as well as forage crops such as alfalfa, and agroforestry
crops such as poplars. Contrasts with natural forest and old field
(successional) sites provide important points of comparison for
gauging the effects of intensive management on the ecology of
organisms in modern field crop ecosystems.
Website: "http://lter.kbs.msu.edu/"
[Summary provided by KBS LTER.]
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