Doctoral Dissertation Research: Social and Biogeophysical Factors Contributing to Soil Fertility Sustainability in Local and Regional Food Systems

该博士论文研究项目将采用地理方法，重点是人与环境的相互作用，以分析土壤肥力管理以及有助于当地和区域粮食系统土壤肥力可持续性的综合社会和地球物理因素。 该项目将侧重于农业哲学之间的复杂相互作用，获得资源，以及参与当地和区域粮食系统。 它还将研究这些因素如何影响农民的决策和参与农场的土壤肥力。 该项目将提供有关农业可持续性的人类-环境方面的新信息，并深入了解农贸市场等地方和区域粮食系统活动的潜力，以应对减少粮食生产对环境的不利影响和提高农业可持续性的挑战。对磷的特别关注将产生关于地方和区域粮食系统摆脱对不可再生肥料来源的依赖并防止过度施用可能破坏相关生态系统的营养物质的能力的新发现。调查结果将直接提供给农民和其他参与当地和区域粮食系统的人，以帮助改善他们的做法，并提供给可持续农业协会和非营利组织，这些组织致力于将农民与加强当地和区域粮食系统所需的资源联系起来。 因此，这项研究的结果将促进对土壤可持续性的基本科学认识，并将帮助农民，政策制定者和粮食系统倡导者努力确保粮食系统的长期可行性。 作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生能够建立一个强大的独立研究事业。土壤是粮食生产和农业可持续性的最重要资源之一，但土壤可持续性的许多方面仍然知之甚少。 其中一个问题是地方和区域粮食系统生产更可持续的土壤肥力的能力。 在进行这个项目时，博士生的论文研究将得到支持，将使用半结构化访谈，土壤分析和地理空间技术来回答三个核心问题：（1）农民如何参与当地和区域粮食系统管理他们的土壤肥力？ (2)参与地方和区域粮食系统如何影响土壤肥力管理决策？ (3)地方和区域粮食系统的土壤肥力有多大的复原力？ 学生将整合从土壤测试的结果进行统计分析访谈信息，以更好地了解社会和生态因素如何相互作用，并有助于可持续的土壤肥力。 访谈分析将确定可持续土壤管理的主要挑战和成功，并为统计分析提供更大的背景。 地理空间技术将用于绘制和分析农民对不可再生肥料的依赖程度。 这个学生将分析区域农民市场网络总部设在纽约市，但研究框架和研究结果将在当地和区域粮食系统在北美和其他地方的许多其他地区的应用。

This doctoral dissertation research project will employ a geographic approach focused on human-environment interactions to analyze soil fertility management and the combined social and biogeophysical factors that contribute to soil fertility sustainability in local and regional food systems. The project will focus on the complex interplay among farming philosophies, access to resources, and participation in local and regional food systems. It also will examine how these factors influence farmer decision making and soil fertility on participating farms. This project will provide new information regarding the human-environment aspects of agricultural sustainability and insight into the potential for local and regional food system activities like farmers markets to address the challenges of reducing adverse environmental impacts of food production and improving agricultural sustainability. The special attention given to phosphorus will yield new findings regarding the ability of local and regional food systems to break from dependence on non-renewable sources of fertilizer and prevent excessive application of nutrients that can damage connected ecosystems. Findings will be delivered directly to farmers and other engaged in local and regional food systems to help improve their practices as well as to sustainable farming associations and non-profits that work to connect farmers with resources needed to strengthen local and regional food systems. The results of this research therefore will advance basic scientific understanding about soil sustainability and will assist farmers, policy makers, and food system advocates as they work to ensure the long-term viability of the food system. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.Soils are one of the most important resources for food production and agricultural sustainability, but many aspects of soil sustainability still are poorly understood. One of these issues is the ability of local and regional food systems to produce more sustainable soil fertility. In conducting this project, the doctoral student whose dissertation research will be supported will use semi-structured interviews, soil analysis, and geospatial techniques to answer three core questions: (1) How do farmers participating in a local and regional food systems manage their soil fertility? (2) How does participation in a local and regional food systems influence soil fertility management decisions? (3) How resilient is the soil fertility of local and regional food systems? The student will integrate information from interviews with the results of soil testing for statistical analysis to better understand how social and ecological factors interact and contribute to sustainable soil fertility. Interview analysis will identify key challenges and successes in sustainable soil management and provide greater context for statistical analysis. Geospatial techniques will be used to map and analyze degrees of farmer dependence on non-renewable fertilizers. This student will analyze regional farmers market networks based in New York City, but the research framework and findings will have applications in local and regional food systems in many other regions of North America and elsewhere.