Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

The measurement of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) concentrations in soils and other environmental media is critical to understanding the role of soils in climate change, and for identifying management practices that maximize soil storage and minimize `leakage' to the atmosphere and waterways. This proposal is for a combustion CN Analyzer that is capable of measuring both C and N in a variety of environmental media, including soil, peat, vegetation and soil amendments (e.g., wood ash). Canada stores approximately ¼ of the world's soil C, with much of it found in peatlands. When that C is released to the atmosphere through natural or human disturbances like fires, logging, mining or agriculture, it can contribute to climate warming. Likewise, N storage in soils is strongly associated with human management, including fertilizer application to agricultural landscapes, and excess soil N can be released to the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas or transformed into nitrate, a human toxicant and stimulator of algal blooms in surface waters. Instrumentation purchased through this grant will allow the researchers to measure C and N concentrations in both natural and disturbed environments, including sites impacted by metal mining, forest harvesting, acid deposition and intensive agriculture and use this information to inform management practices. This research is needed to meet federal and provincial targets around climate change, soil health and water quality improvement.