The widespread degradation of soils and changing climate calls for soil-restoring innovations in agriculture. The incorporation of perennial crops, like intermediate wheatgrass—trademark name Kernza®—into agroecosystems has shown good potential for rebuilding soils while contributing to beneficial ecosystem services through cessation of tillage and increased contributions below ground into deep root systems.

Yet, without temporal crop rotation to increase nutrients and reduce pathogen accumulation, the productivity of perennial systems could be limited over time. To mitigate these drawbacks, intercropping may be a viable approach for sustained productivity. 
 

In this week's Friday Ecology Seminar, Tom McKenna, assistant research professor at the Kansas Biological Survey,  will present early findings from a long-term field experiment assessing the impacts of intercropping intermediate wheatgrass with alfalfa, a perennial legume, across a range of climate and soil conditions. Tom also will discuss mechanisms potentially driving the benefits of intercropping, as well as how domestication of intermediate wheatgrass may alter interactions with soil biota.

The Friday Ecology Seminars series is hosted by the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research. This hybrid seminar will begin at 12:15 p.m. in room 152 Smissman Labs (next door to Takeru Higuchi Hall, 2101 Constant Ave.) on KU’s west campus. Doors open at 12:05. 
 

During the fall 2025 semester, talks will be hybrid and broadcast via Zoom. Most talks also will be recorded for our YouTube channel. If you’re on Zoom, you may join beginning at 12:05 p.m.

See complete information on the seminars and our full schedule on our website. Join the email list for Friday seminars. 

To attend via Zoom:
https://kansas.zoom.us/j/83347644887

Passcode: 415139