U of G researchers say there is hope for depleting soils, noting key role of soil monitoring at the Ontario Crops Research Centre

A new Senate report on Canada’s soils raises concerns about the future of food production and biodiversity. But a team of researchers at the University of Guelph says there is hope to improve the country’s soil health.

U of G’s Soils at Guelph team helps to advance the latest research about sustainable soil management practices by making the latest findings accessible to farmers, industry and the public. The team’s three co-executive directors, Drs. Kari Dunfield, Laura Van Eerd and Claudia Wagner-Riddle, conduct leading soil health research across Ontario.

Along with soil scientists in the School of Environmental Sciences in the Ontario Agricultural College, they’ve identified science-backed solutions that farmers can incorporate into their production systems to improve soil health. 

The Ontario Crops Research Station – Elora houses state-of-the-art soil health and soil function monitoring devices that are unique in North America. According to Wagner-Riddle, the tools – called lysimeters – help researchers “quantify the impact of changes in soil management including the use of crop rotation diversification and use of cover crops on the benefits derived from improved soil health.” 

“The lysimeters we have at the Soil Health Interpretive Centre are innovative, as they compare different soils under the same conditions,” says Wagner-Riddle. “This is instrumental in evaluating and improving soil health based on the farm’s soil type.”  

The Soils at Guelph was founded with donations from soil-minded farmers. Current initiatives are funded by the Weston Family Soil Health Initiative and in part by the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, a collaboration between the Government of Ontario and the University of Guelph.

The Ontario Crops Research Centre is owned by the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario and managed by U of G through the Alliance. 

Read the full story on U of G News: Soils Are Depleting But There Is Hope, Say U of G Researchers