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

本博士论文研究项目将采用以人与环境相互作用为重点的地理方法来分析土壤肥力管理以及促进地方和区域粮食系统中土壤肥力可持续性的社会和生物地球物理综合因素。该项目将重点关注农业理念、资源获取以及参与地方和区域粮食系统之间复杂的相互作用。它还将研究这些因素如何影响参与农场的农民决策和土壤肥力。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，并深入了解当地和区域粮食系统活动（如农贸市场）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和防止过度施用可能破坏相关生态系统的养分的能力的新发现。调查结果将直接提供给农民和其他参与地方和区域粮食系统的人，以帮助他们改进做法，并提供给致力于将农民与加强地方和区域粮食系统所需资源联系起来的可持续农业协会和非营利组织。因此，这项研究的结果将促进对土壤可持续性的基本科学理解，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，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立研究生涯。土壤是粮食生产和农业可持续性最重要的资源之一，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产生更可持续土壤肥力的能力。在这个项目中，博士研究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)参与地方和区域粮食系统的农民如何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弹性如何？学生将把访谈所得的资料与土壤测试的结果结合起来进行统计分析，以更好地了解社会和生态因素如何相互作用，并促进土壤的可持续肥力。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。该学生将分析以纽约市为基地的区域农贸市场网络，但研究框架和发现将在北美和其他许多地区的当地和区域食品系统中得到应用。

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.