Enabling Sustainability through a Transdisciplinary G x E x M Approach.

A long-term research infrastructure for agriculture focused on assessing landscape changes has been envisioned for many years. Discussions envisioned the creation of a LTER or NEON type of network that would document and assess changes of agroecosystems. The ARS Long Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network was created to fulfill this need. However, the ARS LTAR was created with another purpose beyond the assessment of change. The LTAR also exists to enable the transformation of agricultural systems into more intensive, climate smart, sustainable landscape systems. Further, the LTAR looks at agricultural production as a function of the interaction of genetics, environment and management (GxExM) – the same perspective of producers, and thus provides meaningful insights to the immediate and long-term consequences of production system decisions on yields, environment and economic returns. The GxExM perspective requires transdisciplinary teams to be successful – and is thus well suited to systems research because of its emphasis on interactions. Thus, the LTAR offers opportunities for agricultural systems to continuously transform through transdisciplinary teams of investigators seeking to simultaneously achieve the goals of production quantity and quality, environmental enhancement, and producer economic viability.