Lady beetles have declined in abundance by 39% since 1993 in experimental plots in Michigan. Rather than a steady decline, researchers found ups and downs with different rates of change and apparent drivers among species and across habitats. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/94Ur50YAFBG

Latest paper with @kbslter.bsky.social data 🙂

📃🚨🌎 Now published: "Multiple Community Properties Drive Ecosystem Resistance and Resilience to Extreme Climate Events Across Mesic Grasslands". This is the result of a synthesis project by a bunch of early career researchers on data from @kbslter.bsky.social, Cedar Creek LTER and Konza Prairie LTER

This is such a cool paper, but IMO the coolest part about it is the group that came together to write it. When I first started at @kbslter.bsky.social one of the things I wanted to see happen was more collaboration between KBS, Cedar Creek, and my hometown LTER at Konza. And now this group exists! 🥳

Sifting through cross-site @uslter.bsky.social data, researchers found plots with greater biodiversity were more resistant to extreme climatic events. But the key dimensions of biodiversity that helped them cope in wet years weren’t the same as those for dry years. eeb.msu.edu/news/from-de...

Our red clover cover crop is starting to come up this spring in our T4 (biologically based, right photo) and T3 (reduced input, left photo) plots! Things are still looking sleepy out in the @kbslter.bsky.social Main Cropping Systems Experiment at the end of March.

At the 2026 Michigan Craft Beverage Summit today in Muskegon! Representing @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social, Brook Wilke on a regenerative agriculture panel, hosted by MDARD. At KBS we study questions like, How do we minimize risk and get the benefits out of regenerative agricultural practices?

Thinking of proposing an LTER synthesis working group? Our informational webinar is happening Wednesday, March 24 at 9 am PT. Join us to learn about the opportunity: lternet.edu/stories/rfp-... @nceas-ucsb.bsky.social @cu-esiil.bsky.social @cuahsi.bsky.social @ecologicalsociety.bsky.social

Congrats to Brandon Kristy, grad student in @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social Evan's lab, who will go to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to study the "unseen" partners of sustainable bioenergy. natsci.msu.edu/news/2026/20...

MSU Extension launching “Testing Ag Performance Solutions” (TAPS) program, an interactive, farm management competition to challenge participants in making practical, data-driven decisions throughout the growing season. Hosted at @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social! www.michiganfarmnews.com/msu-launches...

KBS is hiring! We're looking for someone to join us as a human resources coordinator. It's a full-time position with a possible hybrid work schedule. Check out the listing, and please share with anyone who might be a good fit. careers.msu.edu/jobs/unit-hu...

Join us in #Kalamazoo for Green Drinks on February 24th, and meet @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social scientists as they review exciting findings about field crops ecology and environmental conservation after decades of research done in our backyard! nowkalamazoo.org/event/green-...

Congrats to Tayler Ulbrich, associate director for engagement for the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Agroecosystem Research program—LTAR —has received an Outstanding Extension Specialist Award from the Michigan Association of Extension Agents! www.kbs.msu.edu/2026/01/ulbr...

We’re in Frankenmuth today for the 8th annual Underground Innovations, hosted by MiAA with support from @kbslter.bsky.social! We’re excited to share this two day journey with over 100 farmers and other ag professionals!

Congratulations to @kbslter.bsky.social graduate student, Rachel Drobnak, has been awarded the MSU Graduate School’s Graduate Award in Science Outreach & Communication for her exemplary efforts to translate and communicate scholarly research to the general public! www.canr.msu.edu/news/graduat...

Upcoming webinar series offers practical insights and science-based strategies to navigate different aspects of regenerative agricultural principles. www.canr.msu.edu/news/unravel...

Regenerative agriculture research from Dr. Bruno Basso is helping farmers and partners improve productivity and sustainability through data-driven insights. He's created innovative models to support regenerative agriculture in Michigan and across the world. www.canr.msu.edu/news/from-dr...

Partnering with farmers across Michigan, Dr. Christine Sprunger @sprunger.bsky.social is examining how soil health and biodiversity can be improved through land management. www.canr.msu.edu/news/msu-res...

Want to get the word out about a incredibly exciting event - MSU and UoM are co-hosting an Indigenous Food Sovereignty Summit on April 6-8! Check out canr.msu.edu/ifss2026 to learn more about the event, including confirmed speakers and sessions. Also, note that Tribal members can register for free!

Over 80 Michigan farmers are teaming up w/ @sprunger.bsky.social at @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social to explore the impact different agricultural practices on soil health, ecosystem diversity and crop productivity. www.grainjournal.com/article/1121...

From @kbslter.bsky.social Executive Committee member, @sprunger.bsky.social, new piece out in Nature! Retire ‘seminal’ from the scientific vocabulary www.nature.com/articles/d41...

A new Special Report warns that long-term ecological and evolutionary research faces severe threats, even as these studies become more crucial for addressing issues of broad societal importance, such as biodiversity loss and climate change. phys.org/news/2026-01...

Our Science Coordinator, @nameer.bsky.social, gave a great talk on @michiganstateu.bsky.social's Main Campus focused on strengthening research connectivity and increasing awareness of the extensive experimental resources available through @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social! www.canr.msu.edu/news/kbs-sci...

It is that time of year! Registration is open for Underground Innovations, hosted by MiAA and the @kbslter.bsky.social! This winter meeting for innovative farmers, agricultural and environmental professionals, and more! Join us in Frankenmuth from Feb 4-5, 2026! lter.kbs.msu.edu/2025/12/unde...

Education & Outreach Coordinator, Liz Schultheis, awarded Sound Science Fellowship from @ncse.bsky.social. Fellows will enhance K-12 education by identifying and resolving common misconceptions and conduct research to develop best practices for science education. ncse.ngo/ncse-welcome...

New paper from the @uslter.bsky.social identifies effective elements of projects engaging the public with science. Called the "SCREE" framework, @kbslter.bsky.social's work with farmers and prairie strips cited under the "strategic" element. esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

Congratulations to @nickhaddad.bsky.social, co-Director of the @kbslter.bsky.social, and Phoebe Zarnetske on the KBS LTER Executive Committee - they are both on @michiganstateu.bsky.social Main Campus today accepting Outstanding Faculty Awards from The College of Natural Science!

As rainfall in Michigan gets increasingly severe and erratic, fertilizer prices skyrocket and concern grows over the environmental impact of agricultural run-off, many farmers are returning to cover crops to address all of those problems. countypress.com/articles/bro...

"These important functional groups of prairie strip people – scientists, students, and specialists – each contribute to the success of prairie strip research in complementary and compounding ways." - @dirtylittleworms.bsky.social! lternet.edu/stories/the-...

Congratulations to @kbslter.bsky.social scientist, Bruno Basso, on receiving the prestigious Soil Science Research Award from the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), one of the highest honors for advancing scientific knowledge in the field. www.canr.msu.edu/news/msu-res...

The Beal seed experiment at @michiganstateu.bsky.social, plus several of our fellow LTER Network sites mentioned in this article about long-term experiments! www.snexplores.org/article/long... @hubbardbrook.bsky.social @davidlowry.bsky.social @uslter.bsky.social

Check out the feature on @kbslter.bsky.social! At MSU, some discoveries take decades — even centuries — to unfold. The university’s roster of long-term experiments includes our MCSE exploring how farming methods affect the environment and the food supply. msutoday.msu.edu/news/2025/11...

For over three decades, researchers at Michigan’s Kellogg Research Station have measured yield, profitability, soil aggregation, carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions and soil moisture in both tilled and no-tilled fields. www.no-tillfarmer.com/blogs/1-cove...

Check out this awesome blog for the @uslter.bsky.social, written by our very own Rachel Drobnak @dirtylittleworms.bsky.social. Rachel shares stories about the research and outreach surrounding prairie strips done at @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social! lternet.edu/stories/the-...

In Michigan, the final generation of Monarch butterflies are beginning their migration south to spend the winter in California, Florida or Mexico. Many are stopping by the @kbslter.bsky.social for resting and feeding along their journey! [Photo credit: Jamie Smith]

From drones helping farmers increase sustainability and profitability, to plant defenses under high nutrients, to the insect apocalypse - check out the latest research from the @kbslter.bsky.social in our press highlights! lter.kbs.msu.edu/who-we-are/i...

The publications collected in this month's LTER Network News really demonstrated the wide range of impactful research the LTER does. Here's the list: mailchi.mp/lternet/lter...

More bad news for butterflies. Our new paper led by Wendy Leuenberger shows common species are declining even more rapidly than rare ones. @ZipkinLab Three decades of declines restructure butterfly communities in the Midwestern United States | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2501340122

Today in @nytimes.com Science Section - @kbslter.bsky.social researcher, Bruno Basso, is featured as one of the leaders of a growing movement seeking to harness technology to help farmers, increase agricultural yields, and heal the environment all at the same time. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/c...

Millions of currently farmed acres hold opportunities for biodiversity conservation that are hidden in plain sight!

Great story! Learning to identify butterflies is in reach. Counts by thousands of people make up the best long term data 🦋 And there are practical means to forestall rapid butterfly decline. Thank you @margaretrenkl

@raviranjan.bsky.social & I are teaching a free online workshop with on experimental design for environmental scientists on the 23rd. We'll focus on using simulations to evaluate how well different experimental designs help achieve your goals. Please sign up & share! forms.gle/MZTxeQs4UpMr...

New research from Michigan State University, led by agricultural systems scientist Bruno Basso, addresses a major problem in agricultural carbon markets: how to set an accurate starting point, or “baseline,” for measuring climate benefits. msutoday.msu.edu/news/2025/07...

New study out of the @kbslter.bsky.social, led by Mia Howard, finds that plants growing in nutrient-rich soil may be more likely to defend themselves against insects and cites the importance of long-term research in the study of evolution! news.umich.edu/study-golden...

Out in the @kelloggbiostn.bsky.social LTAR today for their 3rd annual field day - hearing from farmers, scientists, crop advisors, NRCS, and more - as they share what they’ve learned so far from the aspirational treatments of this experiment and partnership!

Christine Sprunger @sprunger.bsky.social is one of 39 visionaries named to the 2025 Top Agri-food Pioneers, or TAP, list by the World Food Prize Foundation. Congrats Christine! www.kbs.msu.edu/2025/07/chri...

Several @kbslter.bsky.social graduate students presented at #ESA2025! Check out these updates on their research! www.kbs.msu.edu/2025/09/esa-...

Calling all KBS LTER photographers! Have some photos from your best day and worst day in the field? Submit them to the LTER Network's yearly photo contest! lternet.edu/stories/lter...

Family Aphelenchidae [af-i-lenk-i-dae]. This family likes to eat fungi, which nematologists call “fungivores.” Aphelenchidae are common in soils all over the world! #ecology #science #worms #nematodes #invertebrates #soil #soilecology

Want to keep up with the latest news from the @kbslter.bsky.social? Check out our blog! lter.kbs.msu.edu/blog/