Building a Resilient Food System Starts with the Soil
Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes (SAL) Lab published a paper this summer that measured soil organic carbon in the Fraser Valley from 1984 to 2018, reporting that 61% of the farms, soil organic carbon was in decline. Results proposes the next step of the research, which is to evaluate which specific methods are contributing this decline, and working with farmers to find solutions.
Getting into the Weeds
Jennifer Grenz (BSc Agroecology ’04, PhD Integrated Studies in Land and Food Systems ‘20) wants her students take a closer look at the uninvited weeds in their gardens.
Larger farms benefit farmers but not consumers
In developing countries, increasing farm size may help individual farmers, but not the local food supply.
Monitoring Ecological Sustainability at the UBC Farm
The UBC Farm acts as a living lab for researchers working to improve sustainability in agricultural systems, and is now a key node in an international experimental network of diversified research farms. Read more about UBC Farm’s project on water sustainability and biodiversity monitoring.
Natural biodiversity protects rural farmers’ incomes from tropical weather shocks
The study found that farmers in areas with greater biodiversity took less of an income hit from droughts than their peers who farmed amid less biodiversity.
New Frontiers research funds to improve plant proteins, to study environmental impacts of urban migration
Two scientists funded for innovative projects.
Thinking small in the face of climate change
Juli Carrillo and Cara Haney are looking to some of Earth’s smallest organisms to help plants adapt to rising carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels.
Good mousekeeping: en suite bathroom makes for happier mice
Researchers with the animal welfare program found that mice prefer using separate cages for nesting and eliminating waste.
Research on Delta farms can improve soil productivity and drainage
B.C. study addresses how to make farming more sustainable.
Next-generation pesticide captures Ignite BC award
Juli Carrillo and her research partners Terramera and SFU were recognized by Innovate BC with an Ignite award and $241,500 in funding.