Nutrient acquisition strategies and plant-soil interactions in diversified agroecosystems

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Innovative research is critically needed to identify pathways by which agriculture can reduce its environmental impact, while simultaneously promoting sustainable food systems. Sustainable transitions in agriculture, including the application of agroecological principles to farm design and management, is experiencing a watershed moment, having been identified as the transformative pathway to agricultural sustainability by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization. Agroecological strategies, namely enhancing agrobiodiversity in agricultural landscapes, can mitigate many of the negative impacts associated with current food production systems. While enhancing farm diversity can address many pressing environmental issues, fundamental gaps persist in our understanding of how to design and manage diversified agroecosystems. To address these gaps, my research program is designed to advance the diagnostics of diversified agroecosystems and, ultimately, to translate our findings into on-farm practice and policy. This multidisciplinary program prioritizes co-produced research that supports local innovation, and aims to better understand the intersection of people and the plants they grow. The long-term goal of this research program is to understand the biogeochemical dynamics in diversified agroecosystems. This is achieved through an integrative research program focused on quantifying 1) nutrient cycles in diversified farms, 2) crop traits and nutrient acquisition strategies under environmental change, and 3) the success of transitions from conventional to sustainable agricultural systems. In the next five years, this research program will contribute novel: i)applications of contemporary ecological theory into agroecological research, in order to better diagnosis plant-soil interactions in diversified agroecosystems; ii)assessments of nutrient acquisition strategies within the emerging area of crop breeding for organic and diversified agriculture; iii)predictive indicators to overcome limitations in evaluating farm transitions toward sustainable and diversified systems. This research program employs a suite of established and emerging research sites, a cutting-edge analytical platform, and partnerships with researchers and farmers, to achieve key outcomes, including robust research products, evidence-based management and knowledge mobilization, and training of environmental scientists. My research will lead to impacts on the environmental sustainability in Canada's agricultural sector. Findings from this research program will i) contribute to ecosystem service provisioning across agricultural landscapes with collective strategies to enhance diversity, ii) support agroecological transitions toward resilient systems, precisely addressing farm needs for sustainability in Canada and abroad, and iii) generate contemporary insights into agroecosystem policy and practice, benefitting society via healthy and stable agricultural systems.