Louise Jackson

Louise Jackson is Emerita Professor and Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources at the University of California Davis. Due to her split position, her agroecological research included direct outreach to farmers and other decision-makers. Her focus has been the transformation of intensive agriculture toward greater biodiversity and ecosystem services.

She was Chair of the DIVERSITAS Agrobiodiversity Network for many years, and served on the Science Council of the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) from 2014-2016. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She has published >200 scientific articles.

Her scientific expertise is in plant-soil-ecosystem functions in croplands and grasslands. Her research spans gene to landscape levels and includes plant ecophysiology, soil microbial carbon and nitrogen cycling, soil food webs, and analysis of land use, biota, and environmental quality across landscapes.

Dr. Jackson has organized international conferences on climate-smart agriculture and agrobiodiversity. She has contributed to science-policy for California’s pioneering climate change programs for agricultural greenhouse gas emissions reduction, adaptation to global warming, and farmland preservation. She is also engaged in understanding how science can best support local community actions for watershed health.