Cardinal

Integrated Cropping Systems Lab

Finch

Predict-Explain-Design profitable and sustainable cropping systems for current and future environments across scales

Research Focus

  • Agronomy and cropping systems modeling
  • Soil-plant-atmosphere processes
  • Crop physiology
  • Environmental sustainability
  • Simulation of climate change impacts 
  • Improving crop and soil models
  • Soil water, nitrogen and carbon dynamics
  • Shallow water tables and crop roots
  • Optimum N fertilizer rate for corn 
  • Development of decision support tools   

Research Approach

  • Field and lab experimentation to fill knowledge gaps, e.g. root growth, water table fluctuation, plant traits, management effects on crop yields and water quality
  • Use of process-based modeling to connect soil-plant processes with external inputs (weather and management) to enable:
    • systems analysis
    • prediction
    • scenario analysis