Greenhouse facility to support field ecology and evolution research and teaching at the Kellogg Biological Station

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

Michigan State University (MSU) is awarded a grant to construct a new greenhouse at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) to complement existing facilities at the Terrestrial-Aquatic Ecology Field Facility. The new greenhouse will enhance both educational and research opportunities at KBS. KBS combines access to diverse natural and managed habitats with modern laboratory and greenhouse facilities to provide an ideal site for research and educational activities in terrestrial and aquatic ecology. The existing greenhouse on the KBS main site is heavily used and has reached full capacity. The new facility will provide needed space for the increasing numbers of resident and visiting researchers requiring greenhouse access, along with a growing diversity and number of educational and outreach activities using this and other KBS facilities. The existing KBS greenhouse was built in the 1920's as part of the W.K. Kellogg summer estate and has been renovated and updated several times in the past 20 years with NSF and MSU funding to create 3600 square feet of research space. The existing greenhouse is currently located at the KBS main site, near the Academic-Stack research building, which allows for convenient access to laboratory facilities, but is distant from the heavily used field research areas at KBS, including the Terrestrial-Aquatic Ecology Field Facility where the new greenhouse will be constructed. This facility currently includes the Plant Ecology Field Lab, the Experimental Pond Facility, a fenced common garden area (to exclude deer) that has the capacity to establish water and shade treatments, and open fields that can be used for experimental gardens and research plots. The construction of a new greenhouse at the Terrestrial-Aquatic Ecology Field Facility will allow KBS to continue to serve the needs of resident and visiting scientists, while enabling new research connections between terrestrial and aquatic ecologists. In addition, because of its proximity to existing field sites, the new greenhouse will facilitate studies requiring both greenhouse and field components. Finally, the combination of existing aquatic research facilities and the new greenhouse will provide an excellent arena for outreach and educational activities. KBS hosts tours that serve over 4,000 people annually; constructing a greenhouse facility to complete the Terrestrial-Aquatic Ecology Field Facility will provide a centralized location for tour groups to observe ongoing research in both terrestrial and aquatic systems. For more information please visit the KBS website at http://www.kbs.msu.edu/.