TSE Seminar Series - School of the Environment

Informally meet colleagues, professors, and guest speakers; learn about ongoing research and issues related to the environment

Free and open to all members of the Trent community and the public

Friday October 3rd, 3:00-4:00pm, CCN M2

Ian Power, Trent University

Geochemical CO₂ removal for climate change mitigation: From HQP to HQP

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies are crucial for offsetting hard-to-abate greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change. The weathering of alkaline rocks and minerals is one means by which the Earth naturally removes CO₂ from the atmosphere, and forms the basis of many geochemical CDR approaches, including enhanced weathering of mineral wastes at mines and carbonation of oxide and hydroxide minerals in engineered systems. In this presentation, we’ll explore the potential for CO₂ sequestration within mine wastes using diamond mines in South Africa and Canada as examples. Second, we’ll delve into the processes, mechanisms, and limitations in the carbonation of highly reactive oxide and hydroxide minerals that are being used in direct air capture technologies. The tremendous research contributions of many highly qualified personnel (HQP) from the PowerGeolab will be showcased.

Ian Power is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Geoscience in the Trent School of the Environment (PowerGeolab.com). Power’s team carries out laboratory and field experiments, as well as geochemical modelling, to understand mineral-water-CO₂ interactions in natural and mining environments for geochemical CO₂ removal. His research achievements include elucidating microbial and enzyme-mediated carbonation, CO₂ mineralization within mine wastes, natural analogues and magnesium carbonate formation processes, as well as advances in enhanced rock weathering.

Friday, November 7th, 3:00-4:00pm, CCN M2

Cameron Proctor, UWindsor

Uncovering the Hidden Half: How do Plant Roots in Agriculture Vary Over Space and Time?

Approximately 40-60% of plant assimilated carbon is deposited belowground to maintain and growth the root systems of plants. These roots respond strongly to gradients in limiting resources such as water, nitrogen, and phosphorous which can have profound effects on biogeochemical cycles and the carbon sequestration potential of soil. In agricultural contexts, where farmer economic and environmental outcomes depend on how well they deliver these resources to the roots, root plasticity is a real challenge as where the roots are in the soil changes year to year. Despite the need to understand the controls on the hidden half of plants, Canada's belowground monitoring infrastructure is extremely limited, especially considering the diversity of our crops and production regions. Cost, logistics, and durability are commonly cited barriers. However, next-generation minirhizotron technology may overcome these challenges to become a wide-spread tool, empower on-the-ground decision making and strategic research on crop varieties that are more resilient, need fewer resources, and are better adapted to future climates. This talk will discuss the arc of progression in minirhizotron technology and results from field trails monitoring sugarbeet disease progression.

Dr. Cameron Proctor is an Assistant Professor in the School of the Environment at the University of Windsor and is an executive member of the AgUWin research center. He is a remote sensing scientist who focuses on individual plant imaging from above (e.g., satellites, drones) and below (minirhizotrons) to understand how plants choose to allocate their limited resources, root system responses to stressors, and the role of root-soil-microbial interactions in carbon and nutrient cycles. His research program aims to commercialize new tools to image belowground processes that have never been monitored before. Unlocking the ability of scientists, farmers, and industry to observe root system dynamics in-situ in agriculture, forestry, savanna, and Arctic ecosystems and address some of the most pressing gaps in ecosystem management.

Friday, November 28th, 3:00-4:00pm, CCN M2

Andrew M. Gordon, Ph.D., R.P.F.; Prof. Emeritus, University of Guelph; Director, U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research, Haliburton County

Agroforestry Systems for Southern Ontario: Providing Environmental and Economic Goods and Services

Agroforestry arose in sub-tropical and tropical regions more than 6,000 years ago. With population growth, came the loss of much valuable forest cover as arable land grew to feed more people. Indigenous peoples were forced to create unique farming systems that blended trees, livestock and/or crops on small land holdings. In many parts of the world, agroforestry systems continue to play an integral role in feeding people and providing ecosystem services. Agroforestry is the premiere regenerative agricultural system and is regularly touted by agencies such as the FAO as a multi-pronged solution to world poverty and malnutrition.

Agroforestry systems were also historically employed by First Nations in temperate Canada, but agroforestry has been slow coming to the conventional and commercial farming systems currently in use on most of the agricultural landscape in North America.

In southern Ontario, many agroforestry practices could be employed on a large-scale: these would include commonly used ‘linear’ systems such as windbreaks and shelterbelts and riparian plantings. Forest farming systems have historically been a part of the farming landscape and bioenergy systems offer an alternative energy source for the future. Silvopastoral and intercropping systems uniquely integrate trees directly into animal and crop systems yet embrace the lowest rate of acceptance amongst the farming community. Nevertheless, in terms of carbon sequestration, nutrient capture, enhanced biodiversity, and in the case of silvopasture, animal welfare, these two systems alone could make major contributions to the sustainability of farming in North America.

In this seminar, Dr. Gordon will draw upon over 30 years of experimentation with these systems, describing their attributes, pros, cons, and economics. Reference will be made to the current low adoption rate and how this might be changed.

Andrew M. Gordon – Biography - 2025

Andrew M. Gordon received his B.Sc.F. (Forest Environment) from the University of New Brunswick in 1978 and a Ph.D. (Forest Ecosystem Ecology) from the University of Alaska in 1984. From then until his retirement in 2017, he was a faculty member in the Department of Environmental Biology (1984-2009) and then in the School of Environmental Sciences (2009-2017) at the University of Guelph, Guelph, ON. He attained the rank of full professor and was the first Director of the Agroforestry Research and Development Program.

His research interests lie in the investigation of ecosystem-level processes in both temperate/boreal forest and agricultural systems. He has been involved in a number of provincial forest research initiatives, including in the boreal forest, where he has directed a variety of research projects looking at long-term plantation productivity. He has spent considerable time developing and promoting agroforestry systems in temperate regions for their ameliorative and restorative properties, including both intercropping and riparian systems to reduce nutrient loadings to streams and other water bodies.

Dr. Gordon has a strong interest in the interaction of terrestrial and aquatic systems, stemming from his senior undergraduate research on Narrows Mountain Brook in central New Brunswick and a concurrent strong appreciation for the utilization of trees, forests and vegetation within the context of landscape level restoration of ecological processes. He is a licensed professional forester in the province of Ontario and a member of numerous professional organizations. He has also served as the Canadian representative to the International Energy Association (Short Rotation Biomass Fuels), was a Theme Director of CRESTech’s (a former Ontario Centre of Excellence) Controlled Environments Research program, currently in collaboration with NASA to develop biological plant systems for extended space missions, and a former co-director of C.A.A.R.N. (the Canadian Afforestation and Agroforestry Research Network), at one-time, an emerging BIOCAP network.

Dr. Gordon is the author and co-author of over 225 research publications in both refereed and non-refereed journals, book chapters, and technical communications. He conceptualized and edited the first global book on Temperate Agroforestry Systems (CABI Pub.), which is now entering its 3rd Edition. He has advised over 50 M.Sc. and Ph.D. students and is particularly proud of the fact that 19 of his former students hold professorial appointments at universities around the world. He has served on a multitude of University of Guelph academic and administrative committees, has considerable international experience in research, development, education and curriculum development in many countries (e.g. Nepal, Chile, Bolivia, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc.) and was the Director of a long-term CIDA Tier 1 project in Ghana entitled: “Agroforestry practices to enhance resource-poor livelihoods in Ghana”. He is the President and CEO of Forest Environments Universal, Inc., a small consulting company specializing in many of the above topics. Dr. Gordon is currently the Director of U-Links (ulinks.ca), associated with Trent University, North America’s only rural-based Centre for Community-Based Research.

Awards:

1991 Ontario Ministry of the Environment Research Award for Excellence in Research

(with 4 others)

1997 1st Place, for the best Web-Based course in North America, N.A. Web Conference

2007 Distinguished Service Award, Association for Temperate Agroforestry

2016 O.A.C. G. P. McRostie Award, for Excellence in Student Advising

2017 Inaugural Excellence in Research Award, Association for Temperate Agroforestry

Friday, January 16th, 3:00-4:00pm

Amanda Stubbs, UNDO Carbon

Talk Details - TBA

Friday February 6th, 3:00-4:00pm

Speaker - TBA

Talk Details - TBA

Friday March 6th, 3:00-4:00pm

Tapan Dhar, Trent University

Talk Details - TBA

Friday March 27th, 3:00-4:00pm

Speaker - TBA

Talk Details - TBA