"AgScience on Tap"
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Together with our HEF-member Prof. Monika Egerer (
Urban Productive Systems) we start a new lecture series. Here, we meet speakers from various fields of agricultural and environmental sciences for inspiring talks and lively discussion.
We want to meet at different locations (e.g. pubs and beergardens) in a casual atmosphere to discuss scientific topics.
Due to the Covid pandemic we have decided to start this series as an online event, but hope to meet in person again as soon as possible. Registrierung: https://tinyurl.com/HEF-Ag-on-Tap
Summer 2021: Meet Women in the Agricultural Sciences
Click on poster to see details.
To register for this event use this link: tinyurl.com/HEF-Ag-on-Tap
April 21 [5 p.m.]
Diversity at all levels - Transdisciplinary approaches to agricultural sustainability
Dr. Bea Maas, Dept. of Botany and Biodiversity Research, BOKU Wien
Sustainable land use development depends on multiple perspectives and interests. Integrating different methods, concepts, and views on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and decision-making processes requires inclusion and transdisciplinary approaches. This presentation will showcase recent results from cross-disciplinary research and practice that highlight challenges and opportunities for collaboration in sustainable land use.
May 19 [5 p.m.]
Research for immediate implementation: Working at the interface of research and agriculture in the United States
Dr. Monique Riviera, Extension Specialist, UC Riverside
In the United States, the term "cooperative extension" refers to a network of state university systems that requires university scientists to share their information with agricultural professionals as well as other facets of local communities. Cooperative extension is a federal program first established by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914. This program uses federal funds to establish a university operated system meant to create an information pipeline into local communities in order to inform people about cutting edge technology and research in agriculture, nutrition, and related topics. Each state handles this federal funding differently but it looks very similar between states. Scientists are based at universities and are responsible for research and extension (also: science communication) programming related to their field. This was my dream job and now, I am a cooperative extension specialist based at the University of California, Riverside. My research and extension program is focused on subtropical cropping systems. In this talk, I will be discussing my lab's current focus on citrus greening (also: Huanglongbing) in citrus in California. I will explain how the research we do is communicated and implemented by regulatory agencies as well as by growers to optimize citrus production under the threat of this insect-vectored lethal plant disease.
June 9 [5 p.m.]
Promoting agrobiodiversity for sustainable agriculture
Prof. Dr. Catrin Westphal, Georg-August-University Göttingen
Biodiversity within agro-ecosystems is providing important functions and services for agricultural production. However, agricultural intensification is considered as one main driver of biodiversity losses. For this reason, more sustainable agricultural practices are needed that promote agrobiodiversity. In this presentation, interacting effects of local land use management and landscape heterogeneity on functional community composition and crop pollination services are discussed. Moreover, management options for the restoration and conservation of diverse agricultural systems are outlined.
July 14 [5 p.m.]
Just another asset class? Farmland as a financial investment
Prof. Dr. Madeleine Fairbairn, UC Santa Cruz
Since 2008, investors have evinced a growing interest in acquiring farmland. This trend demands critical scrutiny, particularly given the centrality of land to food systems, farmer livelihoods, and cultural identities. This talk draws from historical and qualitative research to examine the emergence and maturation of a global farmland investment industry over the course of the past decade. It examines how farmland is being transformed into a new financial asset class as the unique material and social properties of farmland that continue to present challenges to this asset-making effort.