TITLE:

Choice 1 = Curbing Climate Change with AI and Nature
Choice 2 = Curbing Climate Change with AI and Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry
Choice 3 = AI-LEAF: The National AI Research Institute for Land, Economy, Agriculture and Forestry

PRESENTER:

Shashi Shekhar : Biography ( 100 words, 400 words ), Picture ( 1 , 2 )

AFFILIATION:

Computer Science and Engineering Department, University of Minnesota.

Webpages:

official , personal , wikipedia entry

VIDEOS:

BROCHURES and POSTERS:

SLIDES:

ABSTRACT:

AI-LEAF (AI Institute for Land, Economy, Agriculture and Forestry) aims to advance artificial intelligence (AI) by incorporating laws of nature and leveraging new nature-informed AI methods to curb climate effects while lifting rural economies. By creating a new scientific discipline and innovation ecosystem intersecting AI and climate-smart agriculture and forestry, it plans to discover and invent compelling AI-powered knowledge and solutions. Examples include specialized field-to-market decision support tools and AI-powered estimation methods of soil organic carbon, emissions, and moisture. A key goal is to lower the cost of and improve accounting for carbon in farms and forests to empower carbon markets and inform decision-making. The Institute will also expand and diversify rural and urban AI workforces.

AI-LEAF is a joint effort currently involving the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (lead), Colorado State University, Cornell University, Delaware State University, North Carolina State University, and Purdue University.

The AI-LEAF is a National AI Research Institutes (NAIRIs) under the federal AI initiative. These Institutes aim to catalyze collaborative efforts across institutions of higher education, federal agencies, industry, and others to pursue transformative AI advances that are ethical, trustworthy, responsible, and serve the public good. Also, they bolster AI R&D infrastructure and support the development of a diverse AI workforce. They will drive breakthroughs in critical areas, including climate, agriculture, energy, etc.

KEYWORDS:

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: This work is supported by AFRI Competitive Grant No. 2023-67021-39829 / Project No. MINW-2023-03616 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture as well as the National AI Research Institute program of the National Science Foundation.

RESOURCES

  1. AI-LEAF project website
  2. Curbing Climate Change with Artificial Intelligence , Soundbyte Magazine, Computer Science and Engineering Department, University of Minnesota, Oct. 2023.(z.umn.edu/Soundbyte2023)
  3. AI Climate Institute is a leader in climate-smart agriculture and forestry. , University of Minnesota, September 2024. The article (and video) feature interviews with farmers discussing the challenges they face and how AI-CLIMATE is leveraging and strengening AI to provide solutions to promote sustainable, economically viable, and environmentally friendly practices.
  4. Looking back, looking ahead: Strategic initiatives in AI and NSF's AI Institutes Program, James Donlon, and Ashok Goel, AAAI Magazine, 07 August 2023. https://doi.org/10.1002/aaai.12107
  5. Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Investments to Improve Measurement, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions through President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, July 23rd, 2023. refers to Federal Strategy to Advance Greenhouse Gas Measurement and Monitoring for the Agriculture and Forest Sectors, July 12th, 2023 and webinar on USDA Invests in Improved GHG Measurement, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification for Ag and Forestry July 21, 2023.
  6. The Time is Right for a Forest Moonshot in the U.S., Sacha Spector (Doris Duke Foundation), ecosystemmarketplace.Com
  7. USDA invests $1 billion for nearly 400 projects to expand access to trees and green spaces in communities and neighborhoods nationwide through Investing in America agenda , USDA Forest Service, Sept. 14th, 2023.
  8. U of M looks to use AI to create more climate-safe farming practices, KARE11, May 16th, 2023.
  9. University of Minnesota to lead new $20M AI Institute focusing on climate-smart agriculture and forestry, , College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota, May 4th, 2023. Republished on AAAS EurekAlert 8-May-2023,Fox 9 on May-4-2023, etc.
  10. Liu, L., Zhou, W., Guan, K. et al. , Knowledge-guided machine learning can improve carbon cycle quantification in agroecosystems . Nature Communication, 15, 357 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43860-5 and News coverage
  11. Shabtai, I.A., Wilhelm, R.C., Schweizer, S.A. et al. Calcium promotes persistent soil organic matter by altering microbial transformation of plant litter . Nat Commun 14, 6609 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42291-6
  12. Collaborative Geodesign and Spatial Optimization for Fragment-Free Land Allocation, Y. Xie, B. Runck, S. Shekhar, L. Kne, D. Mulla, N. Jordan, and P. Wringa, ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2017, 6(7), 226; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi6070226.
  13. Computing and Climate, J. H. Faghmous, V. Kumar and S. Shekhar, in IEEE/APA Computing in Science \& Engineering (Guest editors introduction to the special issue on Computing and Climate), vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 6-8, Nov.-Dec. 2015, doi: 10.1109/MCSE.2015.114.
  14. Jens Malmodin et al. ICT sector electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions – 2020 outcome, Telecommunications Policy, 2024, 102701, ISSN 0308-5961, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2023.102701
  15. Related Webpage: Transforming Agriculture Via Intelligent Infrastructure
  16. Related Webpage: Computing at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water