We report, therefore we exist…

We believe in the adage that unless work is memorialized, it doesn’t really exist (except in the dark recesses of someone’s mind). This is why you can follow the investment made by our funder, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, in our perennial groundcover research right here in our latest quarterly report, which you can find here.
Check it out. Visit our website. Send us questions to https://www.regenpgc.org/contact/. That way, we won’t think our work shot out into an unfathomable void!

Poa secunda, a Promising Perennial Groundcover?

RegenPGC Graduate Education Community member Vipul Kumar has been showing his poster, “Vernalization response and freezing tolerance of Poa secunda, a promising perennial groundcover” far and wide, from Texas to Wisconsin. You can check his poster out right here! https://www.regenpgc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Kumar_Vipul_Poster_FINAL-2.pdf.

Working with RegenPGC Co-Project Director Dr. Shui-zhang Fei, Vipul is investigating the feasibility of using Poa secunda as a perennial groundcover. With support from RegenPGC and USDA NIFA, Vipul has presented his work at numerous professional gatherings, where he has received feedback on his research and presentation skills. Learn more about the RegenPGC Graduate Education Community at https://www.regenpgc.org/theme-3-education/graduate-education-copy/.

Mapping priority areas for runoff and erosion control in Iowa corn landscapes

Floyd River Watershed

Ralph Danquah-Acquah, a member of our RegenPGC Graduate Education Community, shares his research in this guest post, which previously appeared on LinkedIn (July 2026).

I completed my CRP 5510 GIS final project at Iowa State University, where I developed a GIS-based workflow to map runoff and erosion risk in corn landscapes in Floyd County, Iowa.

The motivation for this project came directly from my ongoing work with the RegenPGC project. My ALMANAC simulation work is connected to the Iowa State University Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm, and since that research location is in Floyd County, I chose Floyd County as the study area for this GIS project.

RegenPGC is exploring how perennial groundcover systems can help make corn production more resilient by reducing runoff, erosion, and other environmental losses. That made me think beyond the field scale and ask a broader spatial question:

If runoff and erosion are major concerns in corn systems, which places should be targeted first?

That question shaped the direction of my project. Instead of only looking at whether a conservation practice can reduce runoff and erosion, I wanted to explore where conservation practices may be most needed across the surrounding agricultural landscape.

The project focused on three main questions:

  • Where is runoff risk highest in corn areas?
  • Where is erosion risk highest in corn areas?
  • Which HUC12 subwatersheds contain the largest risk and high-risk corn land?

Using ArcGIS Pro, I worked with open geospatial datasets including USGS 3DEP DEM, USDA SSURGO soils, USDA NASS Cropland Data Layer, USGS NHD flowlines, and WBD HUC12 boundaries. I created runoff and erosion risk indices, mapped erosion hotspots, and summarized high-risk corn areas by HUC12 to develop a combined priority score.

One key finding was that runoff risk was more widespread than erosion risk across corn areas, while erosion risk appeared in more focused patches and hotspot clusters. The final HUC12 priority map helped identify subwatersheds where field verification and conservation planning could begin first.

See the visual in these six poster images:

Ralph Danquah-Acquah gets a presentation opportunity

Ralph and his poster

Great to see this opportunity for RegenPGC Graduate Education Community member Ralph Danquah-Acquah to present his poster, Green between the rows: modeling Corn-RhB perennial ground cover systems,” at th at the 2026 Iowa Water Environment Association Annual Conference in Des Moines.* Click here Ralph’s poster.

Ralph’s poster presentation shared his graduate research where, working with his advisor, RegenPGC CoPd Dr. Amy Kaleita, he uses the ALMANAC Simulation Model to evaluate corn-RHb perennial groundcover systems as part of the RegenPGC project. According to Ralph, “Perennial groundcover systems offer a promising way to reduce runoff and soil erosion while maintaining corn production. My work uses the ALMANAC model to compare PGC with conventional and strip tillage systems, with a focus on soil water dynamics, surface runoff, soil erosion, and corn yield performance under different rainfall conditions.”

Overall, Ralph’s work focuses on soil water dynamics, surface runoff, soil erosion, and corn yield performance under perennial groundcover systems.

*Danquah-Acquah, Ralph, & Kaleita, Amy. (2026, June 17). Green Between the Rows: Modeling Corn-RHb Perennial Groundcover Systems [Poster presentation]. 2026 Iowa Water Environment Association Annual Conference, Des Moines, IA, United States. https://www.regenpgc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IAWEA_Poster_Ralph.pdf.

Alex Haus

From Wartburg to Iowa State. Not a long journey if you know what a Wartburg is! Alex Haus, the third member of our 2026 REU class, is a student at Wartburg.

For you non-Iowans, Wartburg is a small liberal arts college in Waverly, Iowa (Learn more about Wartburg). We are so pleased to note that Alex is a returning Research Undergraduate Intern. His experience last year proved so valuable that he is now back to gain even more knowledge from his RegenPGC mentor team. (Learn more about Alex’s 2025 summer)

ALEX HAUS – WARTBURG COLLEGE

Brief Bio. I am currently a junior at Northern Arizona University studying Mathematics and Secondary Education with the goal of becoming a high school math teacher. I grew up in Gilbert and later moved to Flagstaff to attend college. Alongside school, I am also a licensed hairstylist and enjoy doing hair part-time while pursuing my degree.

I recently began my practicum experience, where I have worked in both science and math classrooms, which has strengthened my passion for teaching and working with students.

Outside of academics and work, I enjoy watching movies and TV shows, working out, and spending quality time with friends and family. Something unexpected about me is that even though I am a huge math enthusiast, geometry is actually my least favorite area of math.

Why I applied… I applied again to meet new people and build meaningful connections, because last year I met some amazing individuals and had a truly positive experience. Last time, the program provided me with valuable knowledge, new perspectives, and strong relationships, and I am hoping to continue building on that experience. I want to keep growing by learning from others, challenging myself in a new environment, and gaining skills that will support me throughout my college experience and future career.

My expectations for the REU program include… My expectations for the summer RET/REU program include gaining hands-on research experience, building meaningful connections, and finding opportunities to thrive in a new and challenging environment. I want to push myself to grow both personally and academically while learning from others and developing skills that will support me in my future career in education.

Welcome, Gabriel!

We are excited to welcome a new member to the RegenPGC team, Gabriel J. Gabriel comes to our project from The Land Institute, where he is a new Agronomical Data Scientist. Gabe joins the Land Institute to help advance their Perennial Legume program into a more fully data-enabled platform by building systems for data curation and long-term accessibility, developing web-based tools for analysis, and enabling real-time, decision-driven insights. 

At RegenPGC, he will apply those skills to working witho ur team, especially members of the Graduate Education Community.

He brings valuable experience from Corteva Agriscience, where he worked as a Research Investigator on the Cropping Systems team and collaborated with Bo Meyering and the broader RegenPGC initiative to develop data management systems and image analysis models. Gabe also holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma State University. The Land Institute says, “We are thrilled to have him on the team and look forward to the impact his modeling and data science expertise and manuscript preparation will have on accelerating our work”

New RegenPGC publication hits the “Streamosphere”

Chart

RegenPGC Ph.D. student Memiş Bilgici, joined by RegenPGC colleagues Sara Lira, Lucas Borras, Ken Moore & Thomas Lübberstedt, has authored a new academic publication for the academic journal Frontiers in Plant Science.

The article, Trends in stomatal density and size in maize hybrids representing 100 years of long-term breeding for yield* highlights four main research findings:

  • Modern hybrids had higher stomatal density but lower total stomatal pore area than historical hybrids.
  • Across 27 Pioneer hybrids, stomatal density was negatively correlated with stomatal size, length, width, and leaf area.
  • Over the past 100 years, the total stomatal pore area on leaves decreased, while stomatal density increased as leaf area declined, revealing a connection between these two patterns.
  • Total stomatal pore area was negatively correlated with release-year atmospheric CO2 concentration and temperature anomaly (°C) over the past century.

According to Memiş, “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first crop-focused study to show century-scale changes in stomatal traits associated with long-term maize breeding for yield.”

*Bilgici, Memiş, Ebrahimi, Elnaz, Prada de Miranda, Leticia, Lira, Sara, Borras, Lucas, Young, Thomas, Yavuz, Recep, Moore, Kenneth J., Dixon, Philip, & Lübberstedt, Thomas. (2026). Trends in stomatal density and size in maize hybrids spanning 100 years of long-term yield breeding. Front. Plant Sci., 17:1829321. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2026.1829321

Meet new grad student Zoe Gray

Zoe Gray headshot

Meet RegenPGC’s newest graduate stuent Zoe Gray. Zoe is a master’s student in soil science at the University of Missouri, where RegenPGC CoPd Morgan Davis serves as her advisor. Zoe previously obtained her bachelor’s in environmental science from the University of Missouri.

As an undergrad, Zoe joined the soil judging team, where I competed in numerous competitions that focused on soil chemistry, biology, morphology, physics, and genesis. During her time with the team, Zoe found a desire to learn more about soils and decided to pursue her master’s degree.

As a new member of the RegenPGC team (April 2026), Zoe’s research will focus on the hydraulic conductivity of soils within a perennial groundcover system compared to a system with no ground cover. She will be focusing on hydraulic conductivity as well as water retention curves.

Career Aspirations
After completing her Master’s, Zoe hopes to stay within the research realm and continue working in a lab space that strives to enhance agricultural methods with the integrity of the soil in mind.

Graduate Advisor
Dr. Morgan Davis (RegenPGC CoPd)

This is how we grow the future!

RegenPGC is a research program, and we define that term broadly, as we should. Every year, we help build the future by introducing existing and prospective science/STEM educators to our research portfolio.

We achieve this by participating in two crucial initiatives at Iowa State University: the Research Experience for Teachers (RET) and the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) programs. (https://lnkd.in/dC6HWes6). During the summer months, RegenPGC teachers and undergraduate interns become active members of our research team. This changes not only their lives but also positively impacts countless lives throughout their teaching careers as they apply their newfound knowledge directly to their classrooms.

Alex Haus, a 2025 Undergraduate Research Intern, is set to do the RegenPGC team proud when he presents his work at Wartburg College’s 15th RICE DAY (https://www.wartburg.edu/academic-affairs/rice/) on April 9, 2026. Alex’s poster, “How Perennial Groundcover Affects Maize Growth: Exploring Shade Avoidance Responses,” (https://www.regenpgc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/RegenPGC-Poster-Template-med-QR.pdf), is a wonderful example of how interns can gain by working in a research team.

RegenPGC research team releases latest progress report

Great news! Our RegenPGC research team has just shared our latest progress report. This report, which highlights our research, education, and extension efforts from August to October 2025, is designed to be easy to follow.

This report keeps our agency funder, USDA-NIFA, in the loop, and it’s also a way for the public, who supports our work, to stay informed.

You can find the report on our website at https://www.regenpgc.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-01-30-RegenPGC-YR-5-Q1-FINAL.pdf

Contact: Dr. Raj Raman, Iowa State University Dept. of Agriculture & BioSystems Engineering rajraman@iastate.edu