New funds for University of Saskatchewan agroforestry research
Ken Van Rees, Director of the University of Saskatchewan's Centre for Northern Agroforestry and Afforestation, and Board member of the Poplar Council of Canada, shares in $3.4 million of new funding received by the U of S from Agriculture and Agrifood Canada′s Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Program. Ken’s project is one of three which will create jobs for about 10 graduate students and a dozen summer student positions.
The Centre for Northern Agroforestry and Afforestation is examining new strategies and shelterbelt designs to maximize benefits to farmers and the environment. Ken is looking for the most effective ways to sequester carbon using shelterbelts – the rows of trees and shrubs on farmland that provide shelter from wind and protect soil from erosion. For example, Van Rees is examining how various tree species, including poplars and willows, lock up carbon both above and below ground, and how they perform in various soil zones. This project will provide farmers with improved understanding of the value of shelterbelts in farming and reducing greenhouse gases.
For more information:
http://agbio.usask.ca/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=191&cntnt01returnid=2804
Centre for Northern Agroforestry and Afforestation website
