About CSSM
Description of mission / research objectives / organizational goals.
3 Pillars -> Information on CSSM's ability to develop solutions in food security, climate change and clean water.
Description of mission / research objectives / organizational goals.
3 Pillars -> Information on CSSM's ability to develop solutions in food security, climate change and clean water.
It is the mission of the Centre for Sustainable Soil Management (CSSM) to:
The Centre will purposefully drive the application of soil science principles to solutions of current problems.
The Centre’s academic and research objectives align with Dalhousie’s Strategic Research Clusters: Sustainable Food Systems, Clean Tech and Clean Energy, and AI and Digital Innovation. The Centre promotes the Strategic Implementation Goals of connecting researchers internal and external to Dalhousie (including graduate students), partnering with government and industry partners, and increasing the impact of our research.
This Centre promotes research addressing 9 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals at regional, national, and global scales:
Sustainable soil management is critical to maintaining its productivity and ending hunger, achieving food security, and improving nutrition. This is particularly important in Atlantic Canada as soil degradation threatens the productivity of our agricultural soils and the food security of our province.
Increasingly, we are understanding the linkage between human health and soil health. The Atlantic Soil Health Lab, located on the Agricultural Campus and lead by Drs. Burton and Lynch, has been active in surveying the health of the soils of Atlantic Canada. In addition to food production, soils are important in degrading dangerous chemicals; limiting the pollution of our air and water; and its role in degrading or sequestering dangerous chemicals, such as personal care products and flame retardants.
Sustainable soil management is the primary means by which nutrients, harmful chemicals, and pathogens are removed from water. Improperly managed, agricultural soils can have negative impacts on surface water and groundwater. Issues relating to reducing the impact of agricultural chemicals on surface and groundwater sources have been highlighted in Prince Edward Island over the past several decades and members of the proposed Centre are active in finding and delivering solutions.
In Atlantic Canada, as in many parts of the world, the rural economy is closely tied to the sustained productivity of the land. Economic growth in Atlantic Canada is tied to agricultural and forestry sectors which depend on sustainable soil management.
Soil management is entering the era of “Big Data” and members of our team are leaders in the innovation of the use of advanced sensing technologies, machine learning, and precision soil management.
As we become an increasingly urban species, the sustained access to soils and “green space” will be important for the cultural health of our society. We have active involvement in issues relating to urban agriculture and landscape design in urban centres.
Many of humanities “wastes” are potential resources to be sustainably managed through land application. Our Innovative Waste Management Chair (Dr. Price) has an active research program examining to sustainable integration of a variety of waste streams in agriculture.
Soil management will play a critical role in both reducing the greenhouse gas content of our atmosphere and adapting to climate change. We have active research programs in the management of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and the sequestration of carbon in soil.
Soil management constitutes the means by which we can protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and reverse and halt biodiversity loss. Various members of the group are engaged in sustainable agriculture and forest management research. We also have members examining the impact of agricultural management on the soil microbiome and its function.