My name is Ethan Garnier, and one of my roles within the Biosoil North Project is to investigate the microbiology of the test farms in Happy Valley Goose Bay, Labrador.

Research Questions

How does the microbial community change between farms with different land use histories?

How does the microbial community, particulalry Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF), change between fertilization regimes?

AMF forms a symbiotic relationship with most plants, and can significantly increase the surface area for nutrient uptake; can AMF communities be fostered in such a a way that would reduce fertilization costs for the farmer?

In Labrador, a lack of agriculture, animal husbandry and municipal composting limits the amount of high-quality fertilizer available fertilizer to farmers. Would a cheaper, less complete fertilizer, paired with a robust AMF community, yield similar growth to a (regionally) expensive fertilizer, such as compost?

Generally, how can a farmer in Happy Valley Goose Bay, Labrador (or potentially in other regions with a similar climate and soils) use AMF and other microorganisms to maximize crop growth and minimize costs?

Hypothesis

My research focus is to investigate whether there are species of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) in the forests surround our test farms which are also present within the test plots. If so, I would then determine whether those species are forming symbiotic relationships with the test crops (oats and peas), and/or if they are able to form symbiotic relationships with any other crops.

This is to:

-Provide farmers in Goose Bay, Labrador, and potentially elsewhere in the boreal region, with an effective, local method of boosting crop productivity.

-Justify the necessity of low-impact land clearing for agriculture. Low-impact land clearing would involve the selective removal of trees, shrubs and rocks while leaving the topsoil mostly intact. Currently, bulldozers are used to “walk down” the forest, and push the debris into hedgerows. However, due to the nature of the machine, bulldozers tend to remove the topsoil along with the surface vegetation.

Activities

From September 10th to November 7th, I was in Happy Valley Goose Bay, Labrador, collecting soil samples for DNA extraction and helping other members of the team collect data for their proejcts. There, I was able to interact with the farms, and the soil and plants therein, and begin thinking about how microorganisms were utilizing the space and its resources therein.

Results

coming soon