Grazing Land Management and Soil Carbon: A Climate Hubs – LTAR Webinar Series

The goal of Dr. Sollenberger’s research program is to acquire new knowledge of plant-animal-environment interactions focusing on the ecosystem services of grasslands. The knowledge gained through his research is applied to develop sustainable and more efficient livestock production systems. Dr. Sollenberger’s teaching effort includes both undergraduate and graduate courses that focus on grassland ecology and management. His former graduate students occupy numerous university faculty positions and serve national and international research organizations. His laboratory group has acquired over $6 million in sponsored awards, written 27 book chapters, and published more than 320 refereed journal articles. Sollenberger was recognized as the 2024 University of Florida Teacher-Scholar of the Year, the highest faculty honor bestowed by the university. He was chosen for induction into the University of Florida Academy of Distinguished Teaching Scholars and has received the University of Florida Doctoral Mentoring Award. He was named a Giant of Agricultural Progress and Impacts by the Crop Science Society of America for his contributions to US agriculture. Dr. Sollenberger is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Crop Science Society of America, and the American Society of Agronomy.

Dr. Betsey Boughton is the Director of Agroecology and a Senior Research Biologist at Archbold Biological Station’s Buck Island Ranch, a commercial cattle ranch in Lake Placid, FL. In her current position since 2011, her research focuses on the environmental and economic sustainability of grazing lands in the headwaters of the Everglades and seeks to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services in agroecosystems. Dr. Boughton is the site leader of the Archbold-University of Florida LTAR site and co-leads the LTAR Grazing lands working group. She can be reached at eboughton@archbold-station.org.

Dr. Alan Franzluebbers is a Research Ecologist with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh NC. Research has been conducted in soil ecology and management. He has a leadership role in the USDA Southeast Region Climate Hub and serves on the Board of Directors for the American Forage and Grassland Council.

Dr. Schantz’s is a Research Rangeland Scientist at the USDA-ARS Grassland, Soil and Water Research Station in Temple, Texas. Her research seeks to advance the science and management of complex range, grass, and pastureland ecosystems by identifying the roles and interactions among abiotic and biotic variables like weather, soil nutrient availability, and restoration seeding inputs on livestock forage availability, plant structure and function, invasive plant management, and ecological succession.

Dr. Maria L. Silveira is a Professor of grassland biogeochemistry at the University of Florida (UF), Range Cattle Research and Education Center in Ona, FL. She earned her PhD degree in Soil Science from University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Dr. Silveira joined UF in August, 2006 and her research is focused on nutrient management, soil and water conservation, and ecosystems services associated with cultivated and native grasslands. Through educational and outreach programs, she delivers science-based information to producers, extension faculty, industry professionals, and state regulatory agencies on topics related to nutrient management and pasture fertilization, soil health, and the role of pasture on soil carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas mitigation. She has authored 151 peer-reviewed publications, 106 non-refereed articles, and over 161 abstracts in national and international meetings. Her program has attracted over 9.1 million dollars in grants since 2006. She has served as chair/co-chair of 11 (6 Ph.D. and 5 MS) graduate student committees and as member of 33 (15 Ph.D. and 18 MS). She has also mentored 24 postdoctoral research associates and visiting scientists. Dr. Silveira is a member of the Soil Science Society of America, America Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and currently serve as Associate Editor for Agronomy Journal. She is also the chair of the USDA, multistate project W4170 “Soil-Based Use of Residuals, Wastewater and Reclaimed Water” and the director of the Archbold-UF Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network site. Dr. Silveira has received numerous awards including UF Research Foundation Professor, UF High Impact Publication, and Florida Cattlemen’s Association Research of the Year Award.

Dr. Galen Erickson holds the Nebraska Cattle Industry Professor of Animal Science professorship in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and is a Professor and Beef Feedlot Extension Specialist for Nebraska. Research and extension activities focus on beef cattle production and nutrition, particularly cattle nutrition of growing and fattening beef cattle. Specific nutrition research focuses on use of byproducts for growing and finishing beef cattle, use of grain and silage for cattle, and the interaction between nutrition, management, and environmental issues including air quality and nutrient management. Work involves many researches evaluating greenhouse gas flux from beef systems from cow-calf through finishing. Along with graduate students, he has published approximately 460 extension articles, 440 abstract presentations, and over 180 scientific journal articles over his 22 year career, along with about $13 million in research funding.

Dr. Alan Franzluebbers is a Research Ecologist with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh NC. Research has been conducted in soil ecology and management. He has a leadership role in the USDA Southeast Region Climate Hub and serves on the Board of Directors for the American Forage and Grassland Council.

Dr. Justin Derner is Supervisory Research Rangeland Management Specialist with USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Rangeland Resources & Systems Research Unit, Cheyenne, WY. His research interests are to (1) determine the potential of adaptive grazing management and the contributions of flexible stocking strategies to the sustainable intensification of livestock production in semiarid rangelands, and (2) provide land managers with information and decision tools needed to maintain profitability and environmental sustainability and reduce risk to livestock operations in a changing climate. He received the Society for Range Management W.R. Chapline Research Award in 2022, the USDA-ARS Plains Area Senior Scientist award in 2019, and the USDA-ARS Plains Area Research Leader award in 2016.

Heather Throop is an ecosystem scientist whose research and teaching interests focus on carbon cycling in dry rangelands. After receiving a doctorate from Stony Brook University, Dr. Throop moved to University of Arizona for a postdoctoral fellowship and quickly became intrigued by deserts. She has held faculty positions at Beloit College and New Mexico State University, served as a Fulbright research and teaching fellow at Namibia University of Science and Technology, and served as a program officer at the National Science Foundation. Dr. Throop is currently a professor at Arizona State University where she is jointly appointed in the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the School of Life Sciences.

Mark Liebig works with a multidisciplinary team of scientists to develop soil, crop, and animal management practices for the Great Plains to overcome limitations to productivity while maintaining or enhancing environmental quality. As a team member, he leads basic and applied research to quantify management effects on soil properties and associated ecosystem services. In addition to core research responsibilities, Mark develops decision aides and evaluation tools for producers, conservationists, and scientists, and regularly contributes to research networks within and outside USDA-ARS.

Dr. Alan Franzluebbers is a Research Ecologist with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh NC. Research has been conducted in soil ecology and management. He has a leadership role in the USDA Southeast Region Climate Hub and serves on the Board of Directors for the American Forage and Grassland Council.