Conservation agriculture and ecosystem services: An overview
Palm et al. 2014, Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Volume 187, Pages 87–105 Abstract Conservation agriculture (CA) changes soil properties and processes compared to conventional agriculture. These changes can, in turn, affect the delivery of ecosystem services, including climate regulation through carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions, and regulation and provision of water through soil physical, […]
Soil carbon and tree litter dynamics in a red cedar-scotch pine shelterbelt
Sauer, T., Cambardella, C., Brandle, J. (2007). Agroforestry Systems. 71:163-174 Abstract Carbon sequestration in the woody biomass of shelterbelts has been investigated but there have been no measurements of the C stocks in soil and tree litter under this agroforestry practice. The objective of this study was to quantify C stored in surface soil layers and tree […]
Regional self-reliance of the Northeast food system
Griffin, T., Conrad, Z., Peters, C., Ridberg, R., Tyler, E.P. 2014. Regional self-reliance of the Northeast food system. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. Advance online publication. Abstract Farms producing similar products have become increasingly concentrated geographically over the past century in the United States (US). Due to the concentration of food production, a disruption in […]
Ecosystem services along a management gradient in Michigan (USA) cropping systems
Syswerda, S.P.; Robertson, G.P. (2014) Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment vol. 189 p. 28-35 Abstract To assess tradeoffs and synergies among different services provided by major ecosystems in agricultural landscapes, we examined agricultural yield, aboveground net primary productivity, global warming impact, soil quality, water conservation, water quality, and plant diversity in eight replicated ecosystems along a management intensity […]
Sean Kearney wins campus-wide GIS award
Sean Kearney, PhD student in Soil Science (supervisor Sean Smukler) has won the ESRI Canada Scholarship for the campus-wide “Can you make a map?” contest. Seans’ entry on Agroforestry, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Assessment in El Salvador combined Geographic Information System (GIS) innovation, high quality mapping and clarity. Sean was the unanimous selection as winner […]
Literature Update: Schreier, Hans “Soil survey data for land use planning: A case study of raspberry cultivation in British Columbia”
Full Citation: Schreier, H. (1983). Soil survey data for land use planning : A case study of raspberry cultivation in British Columbia. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 38(6), 499–503. Background and Purpose: Soil survey data are often available in a form that is not useful to land managers. A method is presented for developing “soil […]
Literature Update: Jackson et al., “Polyscape: A GIS mapping framework providing efficient and spatially explicit landscape-scale valuation of multiple ecosystem services”
Full Citation: Jackson, B., Pagella, T., Sinclair, F., Orellana, B., Henshaw, A., Reynolds, B., Mcintyre, N., Wheater, H., Eycott, A. (2013). Polyscape: A GIS mapping framework providing efficient and spatially explicit landscape-scale valuation of multiple ecosystem services. Landscape and Urban Planning, 112, 74–88. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2012.12.014 Background and Purpose: “This paper introduces a GIS framework (Polyscape) designed to explore […]