Project lead: Jordy Kersey
Project personnel: Carson Li, Inbar Avrahami Saraf, Doris (Yiduo) Li, Roberta McMorran, Maddie Lily, Callie Phelps
Supervisor: Dr. Sean Smukler
Project website: https://www.kpu.ca/isfs/organic-agriculture-potential-at-alaksen
Project partners:
- Institute for Sustainable Food Systems (Leah Sandler, Kent Mullinix)
Project funding:
- Canadian Wildlife Service
Overview:
The Alaksen National Wildlife Area is a wildlife reserve that utilizes agricultural production to provide habitat for migratory birds and other protected species. The area is unique in that the farmland is used to produce forage and habitat for the migratory waterfowl. Maintaining economic and agronomic viability alongside wildlife and habitat conservation is increasingly challenging due to climate change, soil degradation, and high-water tables. To ensure sustainable farming the CWS, Alaksen farmers, Institute for Sustainable Food Systems (ISFS) and Sustainable Agriculture Landscapes Lab (SAL) are working together towards a long-term goal of reducing (and eventually eliminating) the use of conventional pesticides and fertilizers. Specifically, several research trials will be established on farmers’ fields to provide evidence-based information on farming practices at Alaksen that lead to regenerative outcomes and best practices to help farmers reduce external inputs, improve soil carbon storage and increase resiliency to climate breakdown while maintaining farm viability and food production capacity.
Reduced tillage, perennial forage, and addition of organic amendments are practices that are often beneficial in terms of soil health. These practices, which add organic matter, reduce disturbance, or support diversity, may also have the capacity to help farm fields mitigate and adapt to climate breakdown. Understanding how the use of tillage and organic amendment regimes may impact soil function and crop yield are important components to finding alternative management practices best suited for the future of farming at Alaksen.
Research questions:
- Are reduced tillage and addition of organic amendments practices that can lead to regenerative outcomes at Alaksen?
- Can perennial forage, reduced tillage, and organic amendments improve soil carbon storage at Alaksen?
- How do regenerative practices improve climate change resiliency at Alaksen?
Research sites and design:
This project is located at Alaksen (Westham Island, Delta, British Columbia) and was established in spring 2021 and continued until spring 2023. A randomized complete block design (n = 36) was established in early May and planted in onion in 2021. Fields were planted in cabbage in 2022. Factors include tillage (reduced, conventional, conventional+herbicide, and increased) and amendment (organic, conventional, control).
Measurements and data collection:
- Soil physical properties (bulk density, available water holding capacity, workability threshold, aggregate stability indicators)
- Soil biological properties (24-hr C mineralization)
- Soil chemical properties [soil carbon stocks, particulate organic carbon (POC), mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC)]
Results and reports:
