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Cows grazing in a field

RESEARCH

Crop Responses to global climate change: Quantifying and modeling

Our long-term goal is to understand the interactive effects of environmental factors (temperature, Flooding, drought, UV-B radiation, nutrients, and agrochemicals) on crop production systems (row crops, horticultural crops, and cover crops). Also, develop climate-resilient crop varieties to mitigate climate stressors. We use our climate-controlled sunlit plant growth chambers to impose climate stressors and study the crop-climate-soil continuum. We develop climate-crop process functional relationships for crop simulation model development for natural resource management and climate impact assessment.

Impacts of cover cropping system on soybean grain yield, soil health, forage production, and animal performance

The effects of cover crops on corn production, soil health, weed suppression, and forage production in east-central Mississippi

The effects of grazing cover crops on animal performance, soil characteristics, and subsequent crop production in east-central Mississippi

Integrated crop-livestock systems in Mississippi

Low-Cost Precision Agriculture Solutions for Advancing Irrigation Efficiency

The number of irrigated acres in Northeast Mississippi is increasing, and most irrigation in this region of the state is applied via pivot irrigation with surface water as the main water source. When using on-farm water storage (OFWS) for irrigation, there is a finite amount of water available to apply through the growing season; therefore, it is particularly important to use water efficiently. Variable rate irrigation (VRI) has the potential to improve water use efficiency and productivity, save fuel, and decrease nutrient leaching over conventional uniform irrigation, especially on fields with high spatio-temporal variability. The main goal of this project is to show producers, especially those with spatial soil and/or elevation heterogeneity who already employ center pivot systems, how they can use sector control VRI at minimal to no cost to save water and money. The specific objectives are as follows: 1. Create and apply a sector control VRI prescription on a production soybean field and measure the water savings realized. 2. Develop a simple method for evaluating whether production fields would benefit from sector control VRI. 3. Evaluate the economic benefit from VRI adoption. 4. Perform a geospatial inventory of surface water storage systems used for irrigation in Northeast Mississippi, to assess the potential for VRI adoption. 5. Share project results with producers and other stakeholders, especially those in Northeast Mississippi.

Sustainable Bioenergy Production and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services

Increasing bioenergy demand and energy security concerns have driven policy and research on bioenergy production and its link to sustainable agro-ecosystem management. Coupled agricultural production and agro-ecological systems models analyze multi-dimensional and complex processes: bioenergy production changes landuse and thus reallocates ecosystem services. This project aims to model spatially-explicit optimal bioenergy production systems given existing renewable fuel standards (RFS2) and emerging and future demand for bioenergy as a jet fuel through 2045.

Resilient Biomass-Combined Heat and Power Systems for Rural Communities

Combined heat and power (CHP) systems offer higher energy gains while improving energy supply reliability and reducing energy costs and environmental footprint. Although CHP technologies have been widely studied using different fuel sources, the potential of biomass CHP (bCHP) systems in rural communities has received very little attention. Moreover, bCHP deployment in these areas is hindered by several challenges, namely, unclear value to exisitng or new utilities or end-users, limited CHP supply infrastructure, market and non-market uncertainties, lack of end-user awareness and economic decision-making tools. This research and extension project will consider the state of Mississippi as a case study to: (i) delineate the energy needs and bCHP potential of selected rural communties; (ii) determine cost-effective biomass feedstock supply-chain options and process design configurations; (iii) develop resiliency strategies for bCHP systems to withstand extreme events and natural disasters; and (iv) increase the knowledge and awareness of bCHP systems among utility stakeholders. We will first examine the rural energy needs and biomass integrated CHP potential to feed into a biomass supply chain logistics model to support bCHP facilities. Then, we evaluate various methods of assessing and for achieving resiliency and sustainability of bCHP systems in rural communities accounting for a higher degree of complexity inherent of individual process configurations. Finally, a community and stakeholder engaged participatory multi-criteria analysis will be used to understand the decision-making logistics of end-users. A new Extension program will be developed to disseminate the outcomes from this project through various professional venues, including a dedicated website.

Enhancing future flood resilience in the northern Gulf of Mexico

This new project uses a holistic strategy to increase communities' awareness of sea-level rise impacts along the Gulf. The Environmental Literacy Program (ELP) project will enable residents and municipalities to prepare for current and future flood risks and associated sea-level rise hazards. It will work to support enhanced resilience via three avenues, thought of as the legs of a stool:
  • Connect municipal officials with informed constituents who want to actively support sea-level rise resilience activities (Connection Dialogues)
  • Increase capacity for science and social studies high school educators to include a solutions-focused sea-level rise curriculum in their courses (SLR in the Classroom)
  • Increase awareness of sea-level rise and associated risks among sectors of the community previously unengaged in sea-level rise science and resilience (Pop-Ins)

PoSIES: Populus in the Southeast for Integrated Ecosystem Services

The last decade has seen important progress in genetic improvement of poplar (Populus spp.) and management approaches that promise significant increases in biomass yield, particularly for the southeastern US. Our main goals for this project are to leverage existing poplar trials and establish new trials to evaluate productivity and ecosystem services and refine economic analyses of short rotation poplar production. We propose to (1) quantify ecosystem services including nitrogen and phosphorus mitigation in riparian areas and belowground carbon storage in upland areas, (2) improve ecosystem services by increasing functional diversity, increasing taxonomic diversity of Populus clonal varieties within plantations, and inoculating with endophytic bacteria, (3) develop remote sensing strategies to enable faster quantification of ecosystem services over differing land types, (4) identify potential ecosystem disservices including greenhouse gas emissions, and potential impacts on biodiversity and wildlife habitat and (5) integrate findings in an updated Techno-Economic Analysis for short rotation poplar plantations in the southeastern US. This data will instill greater confidence in model projections of overall performance using advanced poplar production technology, allowing for direct comparison to other crop systems.

Climate Change Mitigation Assessment of Conservation Reserve Program Practices with Trees

Southeastern forests exhibit high productivity and CRP tree plantings in the region have the potential to sequester significant amounts of carbon as well as providing co-benefits. Therefore, we propose monitoring and sample collection from CRP tree practices at 162 sites in six Major Land Resource Areas in the Southeastern U.S. across seven states over five years. We will measure sites every other year, collecting forest inventory data and integrating it with terrestrial LiDAR scans, high resolution point dendrometer recordings and allometric modeling to improve estimates of carbon sequestration in these systems. In addition, we will collect soil samples and greenhouse gas flux data and calibrate key parameters of the DayCent model used by USDA to estimate climate change mitigation benefits in these systems. We will also quantify wildlife co-benefits of CRP tree plantings and suggest improvements to the harvest wood products module in COMET-farm.

Forest Owner Carbon And Climate Education Program (FOCCE)

Forests in the Eastern United States (US) comprise more than 90% of the land sector's carbon sequestration potential and 82% of these forests are in private ownership. The long-term goals of this project are to help private forests adapt and mitigate climate change, prepare minority owners to take advantage of carbon market opportunities, and prepare the forestry extension workforce to better serve their clients in forest carbon and climate issues. The education program will (1) build in forest owners and extension professionals' basic literacy in forest carbon economics and climate change issues, (2) provide access to new and existing decision-making tools and resources, (3) foster acceptance of carbon and climate issues by building new communities of practice and, (4) reach under-represented categories of forest owners including African American and women forest owners. Our education approach is grounded in adult education theory, uses mixed methods of delivery and includes stakeholder feedback to adjust actions. Methods include direct learning through online recorded modules and resources, and peer education and professional development training approaches. The scope of the four-year project includes the greater Eastern US and is implemented in collaboration with both the Northern Forests and Southeastern Climate Hubs, over 20 research/extension professionals at 13 land grant universities, and multiple government agencies and private organizations. The establishment of a vertical community of practice will sustain programming into the future, by linking forest owners with leaders and decision-makers to help foster the future co-production of climate smart solutions on private lands.

Understanding the Effects of Climate Change on Environmental Hazards in Overburdened Communities

Natural disasters have long overburdened communities along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Among them, tropical cyclones (TCs) are the most consequential. Direct hazards from TCs include high winds, heavy rains, and storm surges, but TCs can also beget other, equally destructive hazards. The latter include petrochemical spills from aboveground storage tanks (ASTs), which are critical infrastructure to the Gulf region's oil and gas industry. The communities that are most affected by TCs and petrochemical spills remain among the poorest nationwide and, to this day, lack the capacity to deal with the plethora of health, environmental, and socioeconomic consequences that have traditionally followed in their wake. An added burden is climate change, which is expected to exacerbate existing TC hazards, thus raising the specter of more intense storms, leading to more frequent severe spills. What remains unknown is the potential extent of these spills and their human health outcomes. This project explores a synergistic modeling framework that will allow us to discern the spill dynamics for ASTs and their human health implications in response to TC hazards, both in the current climate and under plausible scenarios of future carbon emissions.
  • Agriculture
  • Forestry
  • Bio-Energy
  • Coastal Ecosystems
  • Agriculture
  • Forestry
  • Bio Energy
  • Coastal Ecosystems

AGRICULTURE

Crop Responses to global climate change: Quantifying and modeling

Sponsors:NIFA and Mississippi Commodity Boards

Principal Investigators:K. Raja Reddy

Impacts of cover cropping system on soybean grain yield, soil health, forage production, and animal performance

Sponsors:Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board

Principal Investigators:Brett Rushing, Justin McCoy, Kelsey Schubach, Josh Maples

The effects of cover crops on corn production, soil health, weed suppression, and forage production in east-central Mississippi

Sponsors:Mississippi Corn Promotion Board

Principal Investigators:Brett Rushing

The effects of grazing cover crops on animal performance, soil characteristics, and subsequent crop production in east-central Mississippi

Sponsors:Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES) Special Research Initiative (SRI)

Principal Investigators:Brett Rushing, Rocky Lemus, Josh Maples

Integrated crop-livestock systems in Mississippi

Sponsors:Mississippi Corn Promotion Board

Principal Investigators:Brett Rushing, Justin McCoy, Kelsey Schubach, Josh Maples

Low-Cost Precision Agriculture Solutions for Advancing Irrigation Efficiency

Sponsors:Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board

Principal Investigators:Mary Love Tagert, Joel Paz, Xiaofei Li, and Himmy Lo

FORESTRY

PoSIES: Populus in the Southeast for Integrated Ecosystem Services

Sponsors:Department of Energy

Principal Investigators:Heidi Renninger (MSU Forestry), Courtney Siegert (MSU Forestry), Austin Himes (MSU Forestry), Qin Ma (MSU Forestry), Raymond Iglay (MSU WFA), Timothy Rials (University of Tennessee), Niki Labbe (University of Tennessee), Joshua Adams (Louisiana Tech)

Climate Change Mitigation Assessment of Conservation Reserve Program Practices with Trees

Sponsors:USDA-Farm Service Agency

Principal Investigators:Austin Himes (MSU Forestry), Qin Ma (MSU Forestry), Jia Yang (MSU Forestry), Courtney Siegert (MSU Forestry), Joshua Granger (MSU Forestry), Krishna Poudel (MSU Forestry), Adam Polinko (MSU Forestry), Mark McConnell (MSU WFA), Heidi Renninger (MSU Forestry), Dawn Lemke (Alabama A&M), Troy Bowman (Alabama A&M)

Forest Owner Carbon And Climate Education Program (FOCCE)

Sponsors:USDA

Principal Investigators:Shaun Tanger, Curtis VanderSchaaf, Bruno Kanieski da Silva

BIOENERGY

Sustainable Bioenergy Production and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services

Sponsors:USDA-NIFA

Principal Investigators:Seong Yun (PI), Matthew Interis, Daniel Petrolia, Scott Rush, and Edward Yu

Resilient Biomass-Combined Heat and Power Systems for Rural Communities

Sponsors:USDA-NIFA

Principal Investigators:Gnaneswar Gude, Mohammad Maruffuzzaman, HeeJin Cho, Seong Yun, Mary Love Tagert, and Ayoung Kim

COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS

Enhancing future flood resilience in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Sponsors:NOAA Environmental Literacy Program

Principal Investigators:Renee Collini, Sonia Vedral, Eric Sparks, Tina Miller-Way, Tracie Sempier, Stephanie Smallegan, Alison Rellinger, and Donna Peterson

Understanding the Effects of Climate Change on Environmental Hazards in Overburdened Communities

Sponsors:National Academy of Sciences - Gulf Research Program

Principal Investigators:Boniface Fosu (Lead PI, MSU), Mona Hemmati (Co-PI, Columbia University) and Jamie Padgett (Co-PI, Rice University)

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