Naithani Research Group

IRES: Sustainable development of a Tropical Agroforestry Program in the Rural Borneo Highlands

June 1, 2017 – May 31, 2021. NSF, Office of International Science & Engineering.

UofA (Award Number: 1658722): Naithani (PI)

Texas Tech University (Award Number: 1658711): Farmer (PI), Kingston, and Verble

Graduate Students: Renee Sniegocki (2017 - 2020), Yang Kai Tang (2021 - 2023)

Postdoc: Jessica Moon (Summer 2018)

Undergraduate Students: Abby Rutrough and Jude Gireneus (Summer 2018)

Congratulations to Yang Kai on his well-deserved graduation! 🎉 Your hard work and dedication have paid off, and we are thrilled to see you embark on this exciting new chapter of your life. Wishing you all the best as you dive into your internship! May this opportunity be filled with growth and learning experiences. You've got this!

Logging and forest conversion significantly affect soil microbial diversity and can have lasting effects on carbon cycling in tropical montane forests.

Sniegocki R., Moon J. B., Rutrough A., Gireneus J., Seelan J. S. S., Weindorf D. C., Farmer M. C., and Naithani K. (2022) Recovery of soil microbial diversity and functions along a tropical montane forest disturbance gradient, Frontiers in Environmental Science, 10:853686.

doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2022.853686

Sniegocki R. (2020) Soil Microbial Diversity and Litter Decomposition Increase with Time Since Land Use Disturbance in Tropical Montane Forests of Malaysian Borneo. M.S. Thesis, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701.

11th IALE World Congress

Kusum presented Borneo project work at the IALE-World Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

10th IALE World Congress

Kusum presented Borneo sustainable agroforestry work at 10th IALE World Congress.

US-IALE 2019

Renee presented Borneo sustainable agroforestry work at US-IALE meeting.

Project Team

Kusum Naithani

PI_University of Arkansas

Michael Farmer

PI-Texas Tech

Tigga Kingston

Co-PI

Robin Verble

Co-PI

2018 Boreno Team

Summary:

This project will collect baseline ecological data to record the response of a degraded tropical forest in the Bornean highlands to the introduction of an agroforestry system. The highlands were returned to indigenous (Kadazan) people in Malaysian Borneo following two clear-cuttings over the last century; and the agroforestry system is designed to restore the forest canopy. 11 undergraduate and 2 MS students from underrepresented groups in STEM disciplines will collect data in paid 8-week summer ecological field research experiences. Data include soil properties (organic matter, chemical content, pH, water holding capacity, fungi-to-bacteria ratio), arthropod diversity (beetles, ants, and butterflies) and fructivorous and insectivorous bat communities. These observations will record ecological changes at producer sites. Outcomes will be compared to sites at the same elevation in an adjacent and protected national forest range for ecological benchmarking. Benchmarking serves to help qualify agroforestry practices for international ‘green product labeling,’ which would substantially elevate producer incomes. Results will improve scientific understanding of the linkages among ecological communities in tropical forests from soil to canopy; and, finally, students will gain professional experience in designing ecological field experiments, collecting and analyzing data, and communicating results to stakeholders from different cultures and academics at professional conferences.

Soils Team (L to R: Renee, Abby, Kusum, JB)

Kusum and Renee coring soil at an old growth forest.

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