Dr. Kris Nichols on the Food Stories Podcast
At the end of March, 2024, the Regenerative Alberta Living Lab’s (RAl-LL) lead soil scientist, Dr, Kris Nichols made a guest appearance...
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Research
Montgomery, D. R., Biklé, A., Archuleta, R., Brown, P., Jordan., J. (2022). Soil health and nutrient density: preliminary comparison of regenerative and conventional farming. PeerJ. 10:e12848.
McPhee, C., Bancerz, M., Mambrini-Doudet, M., Chretien, F., Huyghe, C. & Gracia-Garza, J. (2021). The Defining Characteristics of Agroecosystem Living Labs. Sustainability. 13(4), 1718.
Heidi-Jayne Hawkins, Rachael I.M. Cargill, Michael E. Van Nuland, Stephen C. Hagen, Katie J. Field, Merlin Sheldrake, Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia, E. Toby Kiers (2023)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2023)
Tomislav Hengl, Preston Sorenson, Leandro Parente, Kimberly Cornish, Jeffrey Battigelli, Carmelo Bonannella, Monika Gorzelak, and Kris Nichols. Facets. (2023)
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Our target was 100 farms and 500,000 acres – I’d have to check the spreadsheets to calculate exact numbers – We have a waiting list of producers wanting to participate if we have room.
This varies depending on the operation.
Specific sites are selected using predictive soil mapping. We will want to target fields they are or are planning to implement Best Management Practices (BMPs) on, we will also sample other sites where nothing is planned.
We are measuring soil changes that result from BMP implementation, changes to management including carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction. This includes checking soil carbon, moisture and bulk density, soil aggregate stability, nutrient availability, microbiomes and the carbon types produced, soil colour, texture. Once preliminary analysis is complete at our soil lab in Olds, the samples are sent to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) for additional tests to indicate soil carbon sequestration.
FAQ's
For Producers
Slide To See Our Partners
Reduced/No Tillage
Tilling causes the fungal network to be broken up and moves the organic matter that adds richness to the soil to the surface, where the soil carbon is released into the atmosphere. Minimal tillage keeps soils covered, holding carbon in the soil rather than releasing it into the atmosphere.
BMPs include:
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Reduce frequency of tillage and minimize soil disturbance
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Minimum tillage/no-till cropping
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Use of tools (roller crimper and/or high residue cultivator)
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Soil Armor
Crop residue, living plants, mulches, and/or compost on the soil surface are valuable sources of armour or protection, helping to avoid carbon loss from soil.
BMPs include:
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Maintain soil cover, cover cropping
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Mulching
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Compost
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Increased litter, trash, chaff left on field after harvest
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Perennials
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Relay/poly/inter cropping
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Cover cropping
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Manage Livestock
Managing livestock and grazing patterns benefit the soil through increased organic matter, rejuvenation of microorganisms, and restoration of water cycles leading to an exponential increase in the land’s ability to sequester carbon. Animals of all types and sizes, including insects, play a crucial role in regenerative agriculture - grasslands evolved out of a symbiotic relationship with large, grazing herbivores.
BMPs include:
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Animal Integration with cropping
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Integrate animals into cropping systems (for example post-harvest or swath grazing)
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Adaptive planned grazing strategies
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Agro-forestry
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Alley grazing
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Reduced Synthetic Nutrients
Optimizing soil organisms (especially mycorrhizal fungi) is critical for regeneration of soil due to the role that mycorrhizal fungus plays in making nutrients available to plants and stabilizing carbon in soil aggregates. The application of soluble phosphorus fertilizer removes the need for a symbiotic relationship between plants and mycorrhizae. It is not possible to regenerate soil to its full potential when using conventional rates of synthetic fertilizers.
BMPs include:
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Strategies to increase biological nutrient cycling
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Incorporate more compost/manure
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Diversity
Diversifying and lengthening crop rotations, using carefully chosen cover crops and compost adds diversity to soil. Different plants allow for longer periods of time in the year when carbon can be allocated below ground to increase carbon sequestration and supports a diverse microbial community that plays a significant role in making nutrients available to plants and in soil carbon sequestration.
BMPs include:
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Annual in perennial systems
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Perennial in annual systems
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Diverse crop rotations that include, for example, combinations of grains, legumes, oilseeds
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Living Roots (Green & Growing)
Maintaining living roots for as many days of the year as possible enables plants to allocate photosynthetically derived carbon to the microbial community. This soil carbon sequestration process mitigates climate change while helping crops to thrive under climatic uncertainty. Improved soil carbon increases or improves biological activity, water infiltration, soil structure, natural fertility, adsorption of pesticides and reduces soil erosion and compaction.
BMPs include
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Cover cropping
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Crop rotation, including integration of pulses and small grains
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Relay/poly/inter cropping
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Perennials in annual production
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Annuals in pasture for cattle feeding strategies
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Strategies for marginal land and wetlands (including prairie potholes); riparian tree planting
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Shelter belts
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Regenerative Agriculture Soil Principles
We are taking a whole-systems approach that recognizes the link between plants and soil. This guides agricultural practices with the goal of optimizing soil health to improve the nutritive quality of food, help to manage water, control pests and diseases, and build resilience against climatic uncertainty, as opposed to studying a set list of individual BMPs.
Regenerative agriculture is not synonymous with soil conservation. Although many of the same Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) may form part of the approach to achieve ‘regeneration’ of the soil, in isolation they will not achieve regenerative soil goals.
The following graphic of a regenerative soil pyramid illustrates how all principles must be integrated to maintain the structure and integrity of the soil. As with the structure and integrity of a pyramid, all layers are integral. If we look to regenerative agriculture as a climate solution, all elements must be incorporated to have the maximum climate mitigation effect and serve to ‘regenerate’ or ‘recarbonize’ the soil through carbon sequestration.
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RALL Blog
Resources
The Regenerative Alberta Living Lab (RALL) acknowledges that its work is conducted on the traditional territories of the many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit in Alberta who have lived in and cared for these lands for generations, and who will continue to do so for generations to come. We are grateful to the Knowledge Keepers and Elders who are still with us today and those who have gone before us. RALL expresses deep gratitude and respect for the land we use and commits to advancing reconciliation and partnering with Indigenous Peoples in our work.
This project honours and respects the diverse knowledge of all involved and is deeply grateful to those who are sharing their knowledge to tackle agricultural climate challenges and work towards solutions.
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Experiments, tests, and activities that Dr. Kris Nichols has used to demonstrate soil health principles for a variety of audiences, and which you are invited to use on your own farm.
Soil Tests
A simple demonstration using an apple to illustrate how much soil is available on the earth to grow food
Creating a physical pie chart to demonstrate the volume composition of typical soil
Using sponges to represent soil aggregation, porosity, and water movement in soil
A simple way to observe aggregate stability and glomalin presence in soil
A test to observe soil structure stability
A method for measuring the amount of stable aggregates against flowing water or aggregates that survive wet-dry cycles
A method for measuring the amount of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi within plant roots
A method for preparing a soil sample for analysis
A simple way of determining soil type or texture from a soil sample
A small-scale test for measuring the impact of a topographical change, like the addition of riprap, on erosion
A sequential development of visually distinct microbial habitats in a bottle, representing population succession
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