Agroecological research at Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) employs multiple measurements and approaches to evaluate the nitrogen budgets and losses for crop production systems.  Work performed under the Long-Term Ecological Research program, which at KBS is focused on row cropping systems, has included measurements of nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emission.  The recently completed Lotic Intersite Nitrogen Experiment (LINX) has investigated the fate of nitrate exported from watersheds into streams and rivers in multiple biomes across the US, including a site in the vicinity of KBS.  A major new field experiment to evaluate the sustainability of various alternative biofuel cropping systems is presently being set up at KBS as part of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center.  This talk will provide an overview of key research results from the LTER and LINX projects pertaining to nitrogen losses from row crop ecosystems, and describe new nitrogen research on biofuel cropping systems.

Stephen K. Hamilton is a Professor at Michigan State University's Kellogg Biological Station.  His research deals with ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry, and in addition to agroecosystems he has worked extensively on wetlands, streams, rivers and lakes in Michigan, South America, and Australia.