Akintayo Afolabi, a PhD student at the University of Waterloo’s School of Environment, Resources, and Sustainability, his research is conducted in the Soil Ecosystem Dynamics Lab under the direction of Prof. Maren Oelbermann. His research focuses on analyzing greenhouse gas fluxes from agricultural soils. Akintayo holds B.Eng and MSc degrees from Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria, and served as a Lecturer there, leveraging his engineering background to address multifaceted socioecological issues like climate change in agricultural systems through interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches. Currently, Akintayo is investigating the effects of converting Boreal forests to crop production and incorporating organic soil amendments on soil greenhouse gas fluxes. His research involves modeling long-term climate change scenarios and its impact on soil greenhouse gas fluxes. Based in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador, Akintayo is conducting fieldwork on agricultural sites recently converted from boreal forest to examine the interplay between soil amendments and factors influencing greenhouse gas fluxes.
Research Interest
- Greenhouse gas fluxes from agricultural sources
- Soil tillage and workability in varying soil types
- Soil health and environmental pollution control
- Modeling of greenhouse gas fluxes from soils
- Farm mechanization and machinery
Introduction
My name is Akintayo Afolabi. My role in the Biosoil North Project is to assess greenhouse gas emissions from the soil at the three farms in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador
My Research Hypotheses
- Organic amendments reduce GHG fluxes compared to mineral fertilizers because of the greater nitrogen and carbon content in organic amendments which enhances microbial activities.
- The non-growing season has a greater greenhouse gas flux due to soil freeze-thaw processes.
- Organic amendment will reduce freeze-thaw-related emissions compared to mineral fertilizer due to higher organic matter in organic matter soil.
