Aaron Iverson, Ph. D.

Dr. Aaron Iverson is a field ecologist with expertise in agroecology, botany, and entomology. Specifically, he is interested in the intersection of agriculture and biodiversity, and the question of how farmers can both benefit from and protect biodiversity. His research focuses on how both natural plant communities and on-farm crop management strategies can enhance beneficial insects on farms.

Dr. Iverson has collaborated with farmers around the world to study biodiversity and ecosystem services. He completed his doctoral dissertation research in the tropical rainforests of Mexico and Puerto Rico, where he studied how coffee farms can be managed both to be profitable for the farmers and to conserve biodiversity, including plants, birds, lizards, and insects. In New York State, he has worked for The Nature Conservancy and with pollinator research groups at Cornell University on pollinator conservation. He is continuing this research at St. Lawrence, where he investigates the impacts of land use, farming practices, and habitat on pollinator communities.

He is especially interested in how agroecological practices can benefit resource-poor, but often knowledge-rich and ecologically rich, farmers. He is also currently working on an agroecology project with small-holder farmers in rural Malawi, Africa. The project, a collaboration between a Malawian non-profit organization (Soils, Food, and Healthy Communities) and an interdisciplinary set of researchers, seeks to identify agricultural practices and social dynamics that enhance food security while protecting biodiversity.

He is passionate about growing and sharing food, pursuing the wilderness, and spending time with his family. He speaks Spanish and enjoys getting to know different cultures and landscapes around the world.

Dr. Iverson is excited to teach and mentor students through coursework and research on agroecology, biodiversity, and ecology, making use of the diverse working landscape at SLU’s Living Lab and the agricultural region of the St. Lawrence Valley.