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
ASC Director Kaiyu Guan ranked among the world’s most influential scientists
ASC Director Kaiyu Guan has been named to the 2024 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list. The list recognizes researchers and social scientists who have demonstrated exceptional influence, as reflected through their publication of multiple papers frequently cited by their peers during the last decade.
ASC Director chosen to give the American Society of Agronomy Plenary Distinguished Lectureship on AI Innovations for a Changing Climate
Kaiyu Guan, the Founding Director of the ASC Founding Director will deliver the Plenary Distinguished Lectureship at the annual meeting of the American Society of Agronomy.
Carl Bernacchi helping raise the bar for agriculture climate research at Illinois
A long-time Illinois scientist has helped raise the agriculture profile of the University of Illinois. Bernacchi’s leadership within ASC and its collaborative effort has proven valuable as the team tackles global climate issues.
ASC hosts Symposium on Agricultural Decarbonization
The Agroecosystem Sustainability Center presented a “Symposium on Agricultural Decarbonization” on Wednesday, September 18 at the NCSA auditorium. Keynote speaker Steven Singer, the Program Director at ARPA-E, gave an update on how ARPA-E is approaching agriculture and its vision for tackling…
Inflation Reduction Act funding to allow ASC scientists to contribute to US governmental efforts and improve mitigation estimates for agriculture management practices
The USDA local Agricultural Research Service plans to allocate resources, which run through 2031, to ASC researchers to ramp up studies to improve greenhouse gas estimates of agricultural practices, as a continuation of DOE ARPA-E’s SMARTFARM effort.