The USDA-Agricultural Research Service’s Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory (NPARL) in Sidney will open its 12th winter Brown Bagger series at noon on Friday, Jan. 17th with a special “science travelogue down under” by NPRAL Plant Ecologist Erin Espeland. The event is open to the public.
Dr. Espeland’s research is focused on restoration of disturbed lands in semiarid regions of the Great Plains and her talk will focus on the ecology of southwestern Australia and problems in restoration there following a recent visit to that country. Southwestern Australia is similar to the Northern Great Plains because of its livestock production, low rainfall, and frequent fire. However, the ecology of southwestern Australia is very different from here, because of sandy, low nutrient soils, few native grazers, and moderate temperatures.
While in the region, Espeland visited Perth, which is located within one of the most important global biodiversity hotspots. Come learn about what the implications are for restoration in biodiversity hotspots, the fascinating plants of this part of Australia and the special problems they present when trying to restore native communities after mining activities.
Bring your lunch for this special trip down under. We’ll provide the treats!
This kickoff presentation for NPARL’s 2014 Brown Bagger series will be held in the lab’s Tech Transfer Room on Friday, Jan. 17, from noon to 1 p.m. The lab is located at 1500 N. Central Avenue in Sidney, MT. We hope you can join us.
Additional speakers in this series will be announced prior to their presentations. For more information, contact Beth Redlin at 406-433-9427.
Reader Comments(1)
Werewolf writes:
I hope we can protect all animals in need but mostly endangered animals.
01/14/2014, 10:32 am