The Midwest is often characterized by its fertile agricultural land, yet pockets of unproductive, low-yielding areas — commonly referred to as marginal land — are still widespread. Marginal land has two key components: inherently unproductive due to either environmental conditions, such as steep slopes or poor drainage, or difficult to farm due to its small size or limited accessibility. Often, these areas require valuable resources and significant attention while generating little profit for landowners. Because of their low productivity and higher opportunity costs, marginal lands are excellent locations for implementing conservation practices that can improve water quality, enhance flood resilience, and support downstream ecosystems.
In this seminar, Bryce Bearson, an Iowa State University environmental science graduate student, will describe a project that aims to define marginality using a case study watershed in Iowa through a collaboration with farmers, extension specialists, and researchers to create an unbiased and practical classification of marginal land, incorporating elements of farmability with established environmental characteristics of low productivity. Building on this definition, she is developing a geospatial tool to identify marginal agricultural lands in Iowa and recommend conservation practices best suited for their environmental and accessibility constraints. By integrating environmental data, geospatial analysis, and farmer knowledge, this work will support agricultural land use decisions that improve natural resources conservation and strengthen agricultural vitality.
About the speaker
Bryce Bearson is a master’s student studying environmental science in the Department of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University. She completed her two undergraduate degrees in environmental studies and International relations at Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri. There, she had the privilege of studying abroad in Costa Rica to research carbon sequestration and nocturnal and diurnal animals. During her summers in college, she interned at both the USDA and NASA to expand her knowledge of environmental science. Currently, her research focuses on classifying and identifying marginal land for the implementation of conservation practices to improve environmental health. In the future, she hopes to continue her career in the environmental science field by using GIS to analyze concerns that affect both people and the ecosystem.
Part of the Spring 2026 GIS Seminar Series hosted by the Department of Urban Planning and Development, this seminar is open to all Iowa State students, faculty, and staff. Contact Professor Monica Haddad with questions.