Partner: McGill University
Timeline: 2024–2026
This collaborative research project, led initially by Dr. Cynthia Kallenbach and subsequently by Professor Grant Clark, explores the role of crop diversity on climate adaptation particularly its impact on precipitation patterns, soil health, microbial diversity, and pesticide use. Through field experiments and digital modelling, this research aims to generate practical knowledge that helps farmers build more resilient and regenerative farming systems.
Regeneration Canada contributed to this project by bringing together key partners and farmers to gain a better understanding of their interest in the research project, their motivations for increasing crop diversification, and the obstacles they face. Regeneration Canada also helped to highlight and publicize this project and its results through videos and blog posts (see Resources).
By fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange, the project also seeks to advance regenerative agriculture by promoting crop diversity and strengthening the resilience of Quebec’s farming landscape.
Resources
- Sowing Resilience: Crop Diversity, Soil Health and Climate Adaptation on Quebec Farms
- Crop Diversity for Greater Climate Resilience: First Findings from McGill’s DART Project
- Video: Can Crop Diversity Be the Key to Weathering Climate Change?
- Augmentation de la diversité des cultures comme solution pour atténuer les réponses du carbone du sol, des communautés microbiennes et de l’utilisation de pesticides à l’évolution des régimes de précipitations
- Visit the DART project website
About the Associate Professor:
Grant Clark, Ph.D., P.Eng., grew up on a mixed farm in Central Alberta, Canada. He received an industry-cooperative BSc in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Alberta, Edmonton (1993) and a PhD in Biosystems Engineering from McGill University, Montreal (2000). Grant then worked as a Research Associate and Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta until returning to McGill in 2007. He is an affiliate member of the Bieler School of Environment and the Trottier Institute for Sustainable Engineering and Design
Contact: [email protected]
