Summary

While technological advances have transformed our methods for mapping, modelling, and visualization of soils over multiple spatial and temporal scales, there is the increasing demand for digital soil data repositories to support the developments in predictive modelling — especially in the era of Big Data. This session explores two themes: (1) the development of digital soil data repositories; and (2) the advancement of predictive soil modelling throughout Canada. The first theme may include topics such as soil database development, structuring, and management; data harmonization, curation, and quality control; and data security, communication, and sharing. The second theme may include topics such as the development and assessment of spatial sampling techniques to support predictive modelling; the acquisition of soil-environmental data layers; the application of remote and proximal sensing techniques; the applications of machine-learning; predictive digital soil mapping; the use of predictive modelling to perform soil assessments; and other related topics.

Contact Details

• Brandon Heung: lgalagedara@grenfell.mun.ca
• Daniel Saurette: daniel.saurette@ontario.ca
• Asim Biswas: afarooque@upei.ca‍
• Angela Bedard-Haughn: biswas@uoguelph.ca

Summary

While the traditional description of soil morphology is still widely practiced, and is fundamental to our current soil classification systems, the information is frequently of limited utility for rigorous numeric interpretations of soil and landscape processes. This session will address advances in the diverse technologies and techniques used for the quantification of soil morphological attributes, related data processing strategies, as well as evolving applications. The research presented will contemplate both in situ and ex situ approaches, at scales of observation ranging from the microscopic to landscape element level. Applications will consider both natural and managed environments, as well as engineered systems, such as anthroposols.

Contact Details

• Richard Heck: rheck@uoguelph.ca
• Farzad Shirzaditabar: fshirzad@uoguelph.ca
• Mary Thornbush: mthornbu@uoguelph.ca‍
• Olatunbosun Ayetan: oayetan@uoguelph.ca

Summary

This session focuses on the impacts of microplastics (MP) within terrestrial soil systems, within a Canadian context. Topics of soil health can include impacts of MP’s on: plant performance and functional trait responses, nutrient cycling dynamics and greenhouse gas emissions, physical and chemical properties of soil, microbial diversity, macrofauna, etc.

The impact of microplastics within terrestrial ecosystems remains largely unexplored in comparison with aquatic systems, yet their interaction with biota could be ecologically relevant. These interaction effects are mediated by the type, shape and quantity of plastic present, and can change depending on factors such as soil type and climate variables. Therefore, this session will explore the effect of microplastics within differing Canadian soil systems to answer some of the following questions. How do microplastics change the physical and chemical properties of soil? What are the impacts of microplastics on plant performance and belowground, root trait functioning? How do microplastics impact soil microbial communities and macrofauna? What are the downstream consequences of microplastic pollution on ecosystem functioning (greenhouse gas efflux, soil nutrient cycling, C-storage dynamics).

Contact Details

• Serra-Willow Buchanan: serrawil@uoguelph.ca
• Eric Kanold: ekanold@uoguelph.ca
• Adam Gillespie: agilles@uoguelph.ca

Summary

Increasing our knowledge and understanding of forest soils and how they respond to natural and human disturbances is fundamental to sustainable forest management. This session explores all things forest soils and is open to a wide range of topics such as forest soil nutrition and productivity, forest soil weathering, forest soils and climate change, forest soil carbon management, forest soil biology and biodiversity, forest soil classification, forest soil damage and restoration, plantation soil management, and use of forest soil amendments.

Contact details

• Kevin Keys: solum@eastlink.ca

Summary

The General Soil Science category will be used for submissions that the authors feel do not fit within the other sessions, allowing for diverse topics relevant to soil science. Where appropriate, submissions made under the general soil science category may be moved to sessions where they are relevant.

Summary

Conversion of natural systems into agricultural lands and agricultural intensification together with increased agricultural inputs have resulted negative environmental impacts. In addition, increased agricultural inputs and activities have increased cost of production and carbon footprint. As a solution, precision agriculture (PA) has become an emerging approach for increasing agricultural productivity while minimizing negative environmental impacts as well as the cost of production. In PA, agricultural management zones are delineated and required amount of agricultural inputs will be applied in correct time at correct place. Knowledge of the spatial and temporal variability of physical (bulk density/compaction, porosity, structure etc) and hydraulic (soil water content, plant available water, hydraulic conductivity, groundwater table etc) properties of soil within the agricultural landscape is needed for delineation of management zones to support PA. The field of hydrogeophysics explores the potential use of near surface geophysical methods for characterization of subsurface hydrological processes and soil properties. Compared with traditional methods, near surface geophysical methods are time saving because a large volume of data can be collected quickly, low cost, non-destructive and repeated measurements can be made at the same location.

In this session, we expect papers in mapping spatial variability of soil physical and hydraulic properties and application of geophysical techniques in obtaining these properties in support of precision agriculture.

Contact Details

• Lakshman Galagedara: lgalagedara@grenfell.mun.ca‍
• Aitazaz Farooque: afarooque@upei.ca‍
• Asim Biswas: biswas@uoguelph.ca

Summary

There has often been a disconnect felt by the agriculture industry between the research conducted and the implementation of that research in an applied agriculture setting.  Programs launched by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada under the Agriculture Climate Solutions program aim to tackle this issue while also combatting climate change through the development and adoption of farming practices. The Living Labs program is an on-farm research program that looks at developing management practices to store carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while also tackling the barriers farmers face when adopting these practices. The strengths of such a program rely on clear communication between farmers and researchers:  what do farmers want to know more about?  How do researchers implement research on farms that is both rigorous enough for publication but also fits within a production framework?  How will the research results be conveyed back to the farming community?

Starting the session off will be a facilitated producer/extension/researcher panel where we will delve into some of the facets of the hurdles and opportunities of conducting on-farm research.  In this session, we expect submissions from Living Labs collaborators and others, discussing how the research questions were developed, how the outreach of the results is being conducted, and how feedback is being solicited to further guide future undertakings.

Summary

Soil nitrogen mineralization is an important source of nitrogen to crops yet it is seldom quantified and considered in the development of nitrogen management plans. This session will explore current methods for the measurement of nitrogen mineralization potential and its use to predict growing season nitrogen mineralization. The potential to use measurements of nitrogen mineralization to refine nitrogen rate recommendations will also be explored.

Contact Details

• David Burton: dburton@dal.ca

Summary

The role of mechanization in agriculture is one which has seen increased importance in recent years. Advancements in GNSS, UAVs, and precision agricultural equipment have all played vital roles in pushing the industry forward. Soil management serves to directly benefit from these advancements through a capability to better monitor, assess, and act on the breadth of data that are available to researchers and industry alike. Modern tools such as prescription and yield mapping as well as spot and variable rate application equipment can all serve to enhance soil health and fertility. Topics explored in this session include precision application equipment, yield, and soil mapping techniques, GNSS applications in soil management, machine learning techniques for monitoring and improving soil fertility, and other related topics.

Contact Details

• Aitazaz Farooque: afarooque@upei.ca‍
• Travis Esau: tesau@dal.ca‍

Summary

Canada recently committed to reduce fertilizer-derived greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30%below 2020 levels by the year 2030. The majority of these GHG emissions occur as nitrous oxide (N2O) from the application of nitrogen (N) fertilizers. However N fertilizers are strongly related to crop yield, which means that simply reducing application is not always a tenable option.  Given that N2O emissions are affected by a number of environmental drivers and management activities that create high variability in agroecosystems, what should Canadian agricultural producers do in order to simultaneously reduce GHG emissions, while maintaining or increasing crop production? This session will bring together researchers using empirical and modeling studies, at plot, field and landscape scales to present and discuss their work on improving our understanding of GHG fluxes and how these can be mitigated. The session will focus on N2O, however studies on other GHGs are also welcome.

Contact Details

• David Pelster: david.pelster@agr.gc.ca
• Erin Smith: erin.smith2@agr.gc.ca

Summary

With rising energy costs and commitments to reduce emissions in agriculture, renewable energy resources are needed. That includes solar, wind and hydro power among other green resources. This session invites all topics on energy in agriculture with a special focus on solar and Agrivoltaics (APV). Agrivoltaics is practiced in many countries and relatively new to Canada where research studies are now being developed across the country. Stakeholders including researchers, producers, industry, and government entities are convening in conversation to assess, understand and develop knowledge and data on APV. The multiple benefits of APV are encouraging: crop protection from intense heat, preservation of soil moisture, and co-production of energy on the farm to supplement income. However, questions remain including impact on crops and the ecosystem, practical and logistic challenges, and policy development.

In this proposed session, we invite stakeholders to discuss research needs, results, prospects and efforts being conducted across Canada on all renewable energy that can be incorporated in on-farm processes such as irrigation, incorporated in livestock and dairy production, and post-harvest processing and storage.

Topics

• Research needs of agrivoltaic practices, suitability on different crops, land types and regional climatic conditions including impact on soil and microclimate and logistical suitability
• Potential of solar energy production and use on the farm (including APV)
• Wind and other renewable energy production and use on the farm
• Potential and impact of novel applications of green energy in agriculture (e.g., incorporation of solar or wind with green hydrogen)
• Other renewable energy technologies in agriculture

Contact Details

• Sandra Yanni: sandra.yanni@agr.gc.ca
• Henry Chau: henry.chau@agr.gc.ca

Summary

Across Canada, cover crops are increasingly being integrated into crop rotations to increase diversity and provide multiple agroecosystem services including reduced nutrient loss and soil erosion, reduced disease and weed pressure, and enhanced nutrient cycling. Cover crops can be seeded during a growing season (full season cover crops), after the main cash crop is harvested to enhance ground-cover over fall and winter period, or seeded ahead of a cash crop. Cover crops can also be under-seeded into a cash crop and grown as companion crop. This session will include research activities that assessed the effects of all categories of cover crops on soil health and nutrient cycling under different Canadian agro-ecozones.

Contact Details

• Judith Nyiraneza: judith.nyiraneza@agr.gc.ca
• Mervin St. Luce: mervin.stluce@agr.gc.ca

Summary

Soils are sinks for a wide range of agricultural and non-agricultural materials that provide numerous environmental benefits. Some materials may require special handling, are regulated products, or have physical/chemical characteristics that require special considerations. Increasingly, agricultural soils are considered repositories for amendments as sources of fertility, storage of carbon, and a waste management outcome. This session will include research on chemical cycling, contaminant dynamics, management approaches, and climate change mitigation related to the application of soil amendments into agricultural environments.

Contact Details

• Gordon Price: gprice@dal.ca

Summary

Soil health is a concept that is gaining global traction along with unprecedented interest in soil science and conservation. Soil health is an analogy for soil function, and a concept that non-specialists, including the public can relate to being in many ways synonymous with human health. The purpose of this session will be to showcase some of the work that is currently being conducted in the area of soil health, specifically its measurement and management. This will be a volunteer session with oral and poster presentations, and student awards and will include an invited keynote from Senator Rob Black. This session will coincide with a proposed new sub-committee on soil health, which will be presented at the CSSS AGM at this conference for acceptance by the governing committee and the membership at large.

Contact Details

• Derek MacKenzie: mdm7@ualberta.ca
• Bobbi Helgason: bobbi.helgason@usask.ca

Summary

Soil organic matter is crucial in climate regulation and building healthy soils. Organic matter stores and supplies energy, nitrogen and carbon to the ecosystem. Organic matter also builds a physical medium that supports ecosystem resilience by improving water retention and plant resource capture. This session explores the impact of land management and ecosystem processes on the amounts, types and stability of organic matter.  This session may include a wide range of topics such as carbon sequestration, loss of permafrost, organic matter characterization, and impacts of agro-ecosystem management on organic carbon and nitrogen cycling.

Contact Details

• Adam Gillespie: agilles@uoguelph.ca
• Sevendeep Kaur: sevendee@uoguelph.ca

Summary

This session will explore the opportunities for spectral characterization of soil properties and the potential for these measurements to replace traditional means of assessing soil.

Summary

While the relationship between greenhouse gases, carbon sequestration, and managed grasslands is complex, intensively managed, short duration grazing has been widely hailed as a possible climate solution.  Soils in rotationally managed pastures have been shown to have improved soil structure, improved water holding capacity, and enhanced drought resilience, and soil organic matter in intensely grazed systems is greater than in continuously grazed pastures.  This session will include research on the effects of rotational grazing on soil health, nutrient cycling, greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration.

Contact Details

• Rosalie Gillis-Madden: rmadden@perennia.ca

Summary

The activity and function of water is invisible within the soil, although frequently water is related to soil moisture, plant growth or seeps and springs returning water to surface evaporation or runoff. These minute connections now become important to further our understanding of the role of water in soil/plant functioning, carbon storage or mineralization and microbial interactions. This topic is now highlighted where the arctic soils vary greatly in depth, layer characteristics and water flow range. This session works toward understanding the interaction of soil and water at multiple scales and the effect of wetness on soil factors from microbes to plant diversity to watersheds; from lab microcosm experiments to large scale field observation; from field site to a range of latitude applicable to digital observation by remote sensing and modelling. The greater the range of topics, locations and methods, the greater our range of vision on the interaction of water in soil will become.

Contact Details

• Hida Manns: hmanns@trentu.ca‍