Funder/ Project Team
The Organic Science Clusters are industry-led research and development endeavours co-managed by the OFC and OACC.
OSC4 is supported by the AgriScience Program under AAFC’s Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership and over 80 funding partners.
Lead researcher: Liette Vasseur, Brock University
Activity 8 Research Team: Alonso (Zavafer) Zavaleta Fernandez de Cordova, Brock University; Joel Kits, AAFC – Ottawa RDC; Jim Willwerth, Brock University; Sudarsana Poojari, Brock University
Description
Project title: Promoting an Integrative Landscape Approach in Vineyards for Greater Resilience in the Face of Climatic and Environmental Changes
Funder/ Project Team
Landcare Niagara (Michelle Martin) is the lead of a long-term recovery and conservation project, which has been funded by Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources as part of the Species at Risk program, in various years. Liette Vasseur: scientific collaborator.
Description
This project aims to better understand the ecology and the genetics of the species and find a way to reintroduce and restore the habitat for population growth. This is done with the Ontario Power Generation as a partner.
*This project is funded in part by the Governments of Canada and Ontario under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), a five-year, federal-provincial-territorial initiative.*
Project title: Promoting the adoption of integrative landscape approaches in agriculture.
Project description: This project mobilizes knowledge transfer activities to enhance the understanding of how biodiversification using native plant species in perennial orchards and vineyards can better support crop productivity as well as soil and plant health, especially in the face of climate change.
In the era of climate change, the agricultural sector must adopt new techniques and refined management strategies that promote ecosystem health, biodiversity, and resilience to mitigate, adapt, and integrate a net-zero economy (Bhupenchandra et al., 2022).
Sustainable agriculture includes crop management based on biodiversification (increased species diversity) to improve the provision of several ecosystem services such as pest control, climate regulation, water, and soil health, thus supporting crop productivity (Tamburini et al. 2020. Sci. Adv.6). It enahnces the resilience of the agroecosystem (Landis.2017. Basic & Appl. Ecol. 18: 1-12).
Perennial orchards and vineyards are increasingly interested in finding strategies to enhance their long-term productivity while improving the overall ecosystem health. The market for organic or sustainable produce is also an incentive that encourages some growers to adopt those practices. The increased demand for products with a smaller environmental footprint (e.g., reduced loss of nutrients, and lower net greenhouse gas emissions, agrochemical inputs and pollution) underscores the need to explore new management practices.
Using a landscape approach, we have and continue to examine how increased native biodiversity in the vineyards, orchards, and perimeters can contribute to provision of ecosystem services (pest management, soil health including soil carbon and organic matter) and thus improve productivity and resilience, especially in the face of climate change.
Description
Project title: Biodiversity in Urban Centres
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety of organisms in a given location. We often think of biodiversity when we visit natural parks, protected areas or conservation areas. However, it is possible to enhance biodiversity even at home. This series of blogs aims to encourage reflection, bring forward ideas and explain why we can all be part of this movement to bring back biodiversity in our cities. Urban biodiversity is important for many reasons and it certainly helps to bring colour and live to our lives.
