Strategic Vision

Grass, Forage, and Rangeland Agroecosystems

Research in NP215 is broadly classified into four Components that are organized around physical scales. Component 1 is designed to provide basic information at the plant and soil-based scale to expand genetic and genomic resources of plants used in grass, forage and rangeland production systems; enhance soil and plant interactions and function; and advance the understanding of plant metabolites and metabolic pathways. Components 2 and 3 address field-scale research to improve harvested and pasture-based forage productions systems. Component 4 addresses ecologically-based and landscape-scale research related to rangeland management that is critical to efficient and economical beef and sheep production. All four components address the agronomic productivity of grassland, forage, and rangelands; innovative uses of technology and production alternatives; systems-level analysis; production system resiliency to extreme weather and other disturbances; and provisioning of ecosystem services.

Projects in this Program. Click on a colored state to view research projects within the state.