Division: Special Sessions

Title: Long-Term Agricultural Research: A Means to Achieve Resilient Agricultural Production for the 21st Century and Beyond (Poster Session)

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Format: Poster Topical Session
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Session Description: Resilient long-term agricultural production is a topic of great importance. Increasing global population and growing demand for food, feed, fiber and energy will place additional stresses on already fragile agricultural and natural ecosystems. This proposal is for the development of the 16^th Annual SWCS-SSSA Joint Symposium which would be held at the 2015 SWCS and SSSA annual meetings. Resilient long-term agricultural production is a topic of great importance and interest to both societies. In 1989, a symposium on long-term field research was organized at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA meeting. It seems appropriate that a quarter century later another symposium be organized to look back at what has been done, what is being done and a look forward to new opportunities for long-term experiments. Contemporary scientific and societal concerns of climate change, extreme weather variability, environmental quality (air and water), biodiversity, ecosystem services and profitable, sustainable and resilient food feed, fiber and energy production systems make such a symposium timely. This symposium will explore how new technologies and innovative means of improving crop production systems are being used or should be used in long-term agricultural research to meet future food, feed, fiber and energy needs. This symposium will explore how systems science can provide sound solutions and multiple options for decision making by producers and those involved in agri-business and conservation professions. Invited presentations will include an overview of contemporary long-term agricultural research and visions of future long-term agricultural research. A series of presentations will synthesize long-term agricultural research on discipline specific topics including: soil fertility, soil water, tillage, cropping systems, weeds, diseases and insects. This joint symposium will continue the tradition of cooperation between the two societies and will help create opportunities to disseminate information regarding solutions to new opportunities in soil and water management and conservation.