1. Deep rewilding: enhancing the biosphere’s capacity to sustain life
2. Soil matters: evaluating soil water dynamics and soil greenhouse gas emissions under climate-smart agriculture
Time: 12:30pm to 1:20pm
Location: Beaty Museum Allan Yap Theatre (Basement, 2212 Main Mall). Please check in at front desk on main floor before going downstairs.
No food or drinks allowed in the Theatre.
Click here for Zoom link. Zoom will be terminated if we encounter tech problems 5 to 10 mins into the seminar.
Talk summary:
Rewilding is emerging as a powerful concept to alleviate the combined extinction and climate crises, by restoring biological complexity to enhance ecological interactions and ecosystem services. I will discuss the need for a broader vision of rewilding that can encompass all kinds of habitats – from wildlands to agroecosystems to urban habitats – aiming at ‘increasing wildness, everywhere’ for the benefit of all beings. Based on deep ecological theory and recognizing the inherent value of wildlife in regulating and regenerating the biosphere, deep rewilding seeks to develop management practices that could recover ecosystem functions and services, using Pleistocene biotic communities that coevolved together for millions of years as inspiration, not as targets. I will argue that there is an important role for deep rewilding in planning and conducting long-term rewilding processes, illustrated by marine and terrestrial examples, and a large-scale experiment in Brazil.
Bio:
Alberto is a PhD candidate in the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, supervised by Dr. Kai Chan, with a Vanier Canada graduate scholarship. As a conservation biologist, Alberto co-founded the NGO Aquasis (www.aquasis.org) and worked as its principal Director for nearly 20 years, promoting endangered species and habitat conservation in Brazil. He has received three Conservation Leadership Awards and the prestigious Future for Nature Award. In 2017 Aquasis received the Brazilian National Biodiversity Award for downlisting endangered species in the Brazilian and IUCN red lists, and for the long-term commitment with biodiversity conservation and community engagement.
Talk summary:
While greenhouse gases (GHGs) naturally exist in terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere, concentrations have risen as a result of industrial development and human activities. This study investigated soil-derived GHG fluxes and soil water dynamics under climate-smart agricultural interventions from April to October 2023 at the UBC farm. Within the purview of the analyses, soil moisture was found to be the most important factor for explaining soil GHG variations, especially for CH4. Treatment effects on soil GHGs, GHG fluxes were the lowest when no nutrient amendments or cover crops were applied. The temporal interaction of soil GHG fluxes with soil moisture during wetting and drying cycles was nuanced, as some lagged responses of soil GHG changes to changing soil moisture conditions were observed. The study’s results offer insights for local farming adaptation to prioritize resources for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Bio:
Ming is a MSc student supervised by Dr. Mark Johnson at UBC’s Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability. Before coming to UBC, Ming completed her undergraduate degree in forestry at the University of Alberta. Currently, Ming’s research focuses on the transfer of water and energy in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Ming is using observational data collected at the UBC Farm to investigate the interactions between soil water and soil greenhouse gas emissions, in the context of climate-smart agriculture. In her free time, Ming plays badminton and reads screenplays.