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Scientific Research

Scientific Research

Since its founding in 1999, the Center has funded more than 70 research projects totaling more than $10 million in funding. The research findings provide decision-makers at the federal, state, and local levels with science-based guidance on important topics such as:

  • The use of the enzyme Phytase in poultry feed to reduce phosphorus levels in manure
  • Ways to improve the federal Conservation Security Program (“green payments”)
  • Protecting Maryland’s investment in land preservation through supportive local zoning and compatible transportation policies
  • The use of downzoning as a tool to preserve farmland
  • An economic assessment of the forestry industry in Maryland
  • Identifying alternative crops and niche markets to help farmers who wish to transition from traditional commodity crop production
  • Designing riparian buffers to maximize environmental benefits
  • Enhancing the economic development of resource-based industries on the Eastern Shore
  • Creating a blueprint for an effective TDR program based on other successful models
  • Identifying the presence and effect of endocrine disrupting compounds in poultry litter

Featured Research

The landward movement of seawater into coastal communities is causing salt damage to land along the eastern seaboard of the United States. For coastal communities like on Maryland's rural Lower Eastern Shore, that can mean invasive marsh species, undrinkable water, damaged forests, reduced agricultural crop yields, and salt-stressed soils. This study performed by University of Maryland scientist Dr. Kate Tully and partially funded by the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology looks into ways we could potentially mitigate this phenomenon called saltwater intrusion brought on by sea-level rise and climate change.

Current Research

Riparian Buffers, Water Quality and Carbon Sequestration

This study, led by Dr. David Newburn and Dr. Erik Lichtenberg at the University of Maryland (UMD), aims to analyze the incentive program features that are most effective in encouraging rural landowners in Maryland to plant streamside buffers.

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Past Research

Agriculture Policies

General

Production and Productivity

Alternative Crops

Cover Crops

Niche Markets

Nutrient Reduction

Poultry

 

Chesapeake 2000 Land Preservation Commitment

General

Land Use Tools

Forestry Research and Assessment

Land Use and Growth Management

Nutrient Reductions

Population Change and Impacts on Rural Areas

Water Supply

Full list of research available here

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