Jan 21, 2014
College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences graduate and undergraduate students since summer of 2013 are part of a research project in Senegal; sponsored by the National Science Foundation Division of Biology within the Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) project. Richard Dick, professor of Soil Microbial Ecology in the School of Environment and Natural Resources directs the $2.6 million NSF PIRE project that is focusing on the Sahel where landscape degradation is causing desertification and seriously reducing food security. A potential solution is two unrecognized native shrub species that can be intercropped to provide benefits to soils and crops while restoring Sahelian agroecosystems.