The Agroecosystem Sustainability Center (ASC) is jointly established by the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment (iSEE), the College of ACES, and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Research Themes
Agroecosystem is a comprehensive system that carbon, water, nutrient cycles are intrinsically connected, interacting with human management practices, providing critical food/energy/fiber needs for humanity and ecosystem service.
Agricultural Production
We study the complex dynamics of crop productivity, its response to management practices and environmental stresses, and its resilience to climate change.
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Carbon
Plant carbon input from residue and root exudates further drives soil carbon dynamics and microbe-mediated transformation.
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Nutrients
Nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients) cycling in the agroecosystem is a critical determinant for both agricultural production and environmental sustainability.
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Water
Water quantity and quality are crucial for agroecosystems as they impact crop productivity and are also indicators of agriculture environmental outcomes.
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Digital Replica
Could the U.S. Midwest remain as the global food basket in the next 100 years? How can we ensure co-sustainability of food production and environmental quality in this landscape?
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Solutions
ASC aims to transform our advanced use-inspired and applied basic research outcomes into different practical solutions for various stakeholders in the agricultural sector.
Learn MoreIn The News
Driving Digital Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture: Insights from FAO’s IDASF 2025
ASC scientist Senior Technology Advisor Lesly Goh represented SIGMA at the FAO Inter-Regional Digital Agriculture Solutions Forum 2025 in Thailand.
ASC scientists have unified disparate transpiration theories into one framework
The Agroecosystem Sustainability Center researchers at the University of Illinois have synthesized different plant water use theories into one unified framework.
ASC Director Acclaimed as National Leader in Agricultural Innovation
ASC Director Kaiyu Guan received the 2025 national agInnovation award for Excellence in Agricultural Research Innovation for his global reputation in agroecosystem science and his pioneering integration of artificial intelligence, satellite sensing, process modeling, and supercomputing to improve food security and environmental sustainability.
Ingenious: Crop Rings
How ASC scientists Evan Delucia and Lisa Ainsworth helped create an experimental open-air field to test the effects of climate change as part of SoyFACE (Soybean Free Air Concentration Enrichment)
Global farmland expansion and land use emissions have been fueled by climate change, according to new study
Research co-led by ASC scientist Jessica Till explains how reduced agricultural efficiency from climate change is responsible for increasing cropland area and CO₂ emissions, creating a climate feedback loop.