| Affiliations: | |
| Project Leader: | Jenna Likins jlikins@tamu.edu Ecosystem Science and Management |
| Faculty Mentor: | Dr. Urs Kreuter, Ph.D. |
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Meeting Times:
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Once a week (particular day determined by availability of team members) |
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Team Size:
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3
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| Open Spots: | 1 |
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Special Opportunities:
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Economic modeling experience
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Team Needs:
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Proficiency in Excel |
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Description:
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Regenerative rangeland management employs practices that improve soil health and conserves biodiversity while producing nutrient dense food profitably. Dung insects are important in rangeland function, but the effects of herd and rangeland management on their services and economic contributions to the ranch remain poorly understood. Our goal is to characterize the effects of regeneratively and continuously grazed rangelands on dung invertebrate diversity and dung degradation rates, explore how plant diversity influences these dynamics, and assign an economic value of these services under different management scenarios in North and South Dakota. A character matrix based on producer interviews will be used to categorize ranches as regenerative and conventional based on their management practices. Economic models will be developed that calculate the cost benefits of dung degradation based on pasture fouling, nutrient incorporation, and pest reduction to value dung degradation services under the two management systems |