USDA Announces Long-Term Agroecosystem Network

On 10 September 2012, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) announced the establishment of a Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network. This program will seek to capture and model the complexity of long-term agricultural processes at a national scale, such as the potentially transformative impact of slow change and episodic or unpredictable events on agricultural systems. Modeled on the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) highly successful Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network, LTAR would develop innovative strategies ensuring U.S. food security and manage emerging issues in agricultural sustainability. Read more