2004 Compendium of OMAFRA Funded
Environment Research
2004
Compendium of OMAFRA Funded Environment Research - (PDF 1.10 MB)
Table of Contents
Section One: OMAFRA Programs Supporting Environment Research
Section Two: Abstracts
Foreword
Safe water, clean air, and a pristine environment are highly valued by
Ontarians. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAFRA) values them highly
as well, and dedicates significant resources to study and minimize the
effects of agricultural practices on the quality of our water, soil and
air. Innovative research provides tools to the industry for the production
of safe and nutritious food through sustainable and environmentally friendly
production practices.
In order to make information on environmental research results more easily
accessible to the industry, other researchers, and the interested public,
OMAFRA has put together this Compendium of OMAFRA Funded Environment Research.
It provides abstracts of 98 research projects carried out between 2002
and 2007.
Through the OMAFRA / UofG Agreement, the New Directions Research Program,
and the Healthy Futures Program, OMAFRA has invested a total of $6.1 million
in the research projects reported in this compendium. Together, these
provincial investments have leveraged an additional $16 million in financial
and in-kind support from private industry and other research institutions.
These programs have also contributed to the training of highly qualified
personnel by funding a total of 82 Ph.D.s, masters and undergraduate students.
For your convenience this Compendium is divided into 3 sections to allow
for greater search capabilities and ease of information dissemination.
Section One: OMAFRA Programs Supporting Environmental Research
- In this section you will find descriptions of the different OMAFRA funding
programs, projects supported under each program and the name of the
lead researcher for each project.
Section Two: Abstracts
- This section contains detailed abstracts of the supported projects
categorized into four areas; air quality (AQ), water quality (WQ), soil
quality (SQ) and ‘other environmental research’ (EN). These
abstracts also include the name and contact information for the lead
researcher(s), name of collaborating researchers, project duration and
project identifier.
Section Three: Quick Search
- This section allows you to cross reference key words (e.g. ‘climate
change’, greenhouse gases) to supported projects.
Additionally, funding program descriptions, executive summaries of funded
projects and researcher contact information can be found
electronically.
For further information on any project listed in this compendium you
are encouraged to contact the lead researcher directly.
Finally we would like to recognize and thank the many researchers, universities,
federal government departments, provincial government ministries and industry
organizations that partner with OMAFRA to fund, perform and/or communicate
environmental research. This collaboration has helped generate leading-edge
research and solutions that will benefit the Ontario agri-food industry
and the residents of Ontario for years to come.
Dr. Maurice Bitran
Director, Innovation and Risk Management Branch
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food
Charles Lalonde
Director, Resources Management,
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food
Section One: OMAFRA Programs Supporting Environmental Research
OMAFRA-University of Guelph Agri-Food Research Program
OMAFRA, through its agreement with the University of Guelph, funds approximately
$33.6 million of agri-food research annually. Research is organized in
five program areas: Resources Management and Environment, Animals, Plants,
Sustainable Rural Communities and Food. The first four of these program
areas include projects which address environmental issues identified by
stakeholders through the Ontario Agricultural Services Coordinating Committee
and its sub-committees.
The total investment in 2003-04 by OMAFRA in environmental related research
at the University of Guelph through these programs is close to $5.1 million.
The researchers used this funding to leverage significant additional funding
from a range of government and industry partners.
Further details on the research program can be obtained from the University
of Guelph website.
Table 1: Environment related projects funded through
the Resources Management and Environment Program
1 Jointly funded with the Sustainable Rural Communities
program
2 Jointly funded with the Animals program
3 Jointly funded with the Plants program
| OASIS # |
Project Title |
Project Lead |
| 23760 |
Optimizing methods of applying animal wastes and bio-solids
on the land at desired rates. |
B. Hawkins |
| 23770 |
Quantifying water quality impacts of livestock farms
and other rural land uses. |
R. Fleming |
| 23790 |
Quantifying the detrimental effects of improperly timed
cultivation under no-till and conventional till practices. |
B. Curnoe |
| 23800 |
Optimizing the value of paper mill biosolids as a soil
amendment on agricultural land in Eastern Ontario. |
B. Curnoe |
| 23870 |
Design tools for riparian vegetative filter strips incorporating
characteristics of the contributing watershed. |
R. Rudra |
| 23890 |
Baseline nitrate leaching. |
P. Groenevelt |
| 24000 |
Identifying management units for site-specific nitrogen
management: Characteristics of the spatial and temporal stability
of yield patterns. |
I. O’Halloran |
| 24030 |
Greenhouse gas emissions, removal of air pollutants
and nitrate leaching in management systems designed for carbon sequestration.
|
C. Wagner - Riddle |
| 24110 |
A GIS and remote sensing system for agroecosystem monitoring
and site specific crop management of agricultural Ontario. |
J. Lauzon |
| 24230 |
Risk assessment and economic evaluation of environmental
damage associated with livestock manure - Dietary strategies and handling
alternatives. |
C. Wagner - Riddle |
| 24280 |
Biosolid application on agricultural land. |
B. Hale |
| 24300 |
Modeling the fate of gaseous agricultural pollutants.
|
G. Edwards |
| 24360 |
Developing a framework to assess incentive compatibility
of BMPs. |
K. Rollins |
| 25440 |
Investigation of water quality problems on the Bonnechere
river system. |
B. Hawkins |
| 25460 |
Identification of N management units using organic carbon.
|
B. Kay |
| 25562 |
Construction of recombinant antibodies for detection
of Crytosporidium parvum. |
H. Lee |
| 25652 |
Quantifying influence of management practices, tile
drainage on soil chemical and moisture dynamics using non-intrusive
geophysical methods. |
G. Parkin |
| 25669 |
Impact of management strategies to lower P excreted
in manure on the bioavailability in P in manure and manure amended
soils. |
I. O’Halloran |
| 25776 |
Hybrid poplar production to sequester carbon and utilize
biosolids on agricultural land in Northern Ontario. |
J. Rowsell |
| 25829 |
Nutritive value and agricultural/horticultural uses
of intra-process waste water generated from anaerobic digestion of
organic wastes. |
P. Voroney |
| 25871 |
Best management practices, barriers and opportunities
to the use of paper mill biosolids on field crops.3 |
M. Goss |
| 25888 |
Evaluation of the impact of antibiotics on the survival,
and surfactants on the transport of manure bacteria after land application.
|
M. Goss |
| 25946 |
Identification of soil physical conditions and cultivation
practices that reduce potential for soil/water contamination resulting
from biosolid application to agricultural lands. |
B. Curnoe |
| 25951 |
Ontario farmland conservation research program: Policy
options for conserving farmland and rural communities.1 |
S. Hilts |
| 25963 |
Evaluation of manure application machinery. |
B. Hawkins |
| 25966 |
A study of BMP remediation of compacted field soils
in Ontario. |
R. McBride |
| 25977 |
Estimating N requirements in a variable landscape from
soil and climate data. |
B. Kay |
| 25983 |
Characterizing air emissions and ash residues from the
cremation of deadstock from small on-farm commercial cremation units.2 |
B. Van Heyst |
| 26003 |
Treatment of livestock manure to reduce environmental
impacts. |
R. Fleming |
| 26004 |
Development of Best Management Practices to protect
rural water quality. |
R. Fleming |
| 26008 |
Evaluation of within field nitrogen management units
based on potential for environmental impact. |
R. Heck |
| 26019 |
Adaptation strategies for the management of climate
related risk in Ontario agriculture |
B. Smit |
| 26023 |
Economic analysis of conservation cover programs and
best management practices. |
A. Weersink |
| 26024 |
Assessing structural and functional responses of soil
and sediment microbial communities
to sewage sludge and pharmaceuticals. |
P. Sibley |
| 26025 |
Septic system water quality improvement using effluent
filters. |
D. Joy |
| 26028 |
Development of watershed system capacity procedure for
water quality. |
R. Rudra |
| 26043 |
Improving sustainability and nutrient management of
an agricultural watershed. |
G. Filson |
| 26045 |
Development of a multi-scale approach to site-specific
nitrogen management.3 |
I O’Halloran |
| 26046 |
Assessing manure phosphorus bioavailability and potential
for loss. |
I. O’Halloran |
| 26074 |
Reduction of the survival and transport of bacteria
after land application of organic materials contaminated with microbial
pathogens. |
M. Goss |
| 26075 |
Greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions during storage,
treatment and land application of animal manure. |
C. Wagner - Riddle |
| 26076 |
Best management practices for field crops: mitigation
of greenhouse gases and adaptation to climate change. |
C. Wagner - Riddle |
| 26084 |
Evaluation of alternate policy approaches to support
adoption of Best Management Practices. |
S. Hilts |
| 26085 |
Unregulated metals in biosolids: Risks to the environment,
plant and human health. |
B. Hale |
| 26086 |
Survival and release of fecal bacteria from rural stream
sediments. |
D. Joy |
| 26087 |
Managing rural water supplies during drought conditions.
|
R. Kreutzwiser |
| 26100 |
Risk assessment and economic evaluation of environmental
damage associated with livestock manure: Dietary strategy and handling
alternative. |
D.P. Stonehouse |
| 26101 |
Aforestation of marginal land. |
G. Fox |
Animal Research Program
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAFRA) supports
Animal related research through an agreement with the University of Guelph.
Under this agreement the University manages and operates the research
programs required by OMAFRA including research for the aquaculture, beef,
dairy, equine, poultry, pork and sheep industries. Research priorities
are identified by OMAFRA and are developed through the Ontario Agricultural
Services Coordinating Committee (OASCC) structure. As part of the overall
OASCC, the Ontario Animal Research & Services Subcommittees (OARSC)
work to assess and establish research priorities in order to address research
gaps and to redirect and /or re-allocate current research effort. 12 species
subcommittees participate in OARSC.
Table 2: Environment related projects funded through
the Animals Research program.
| OASIS # |
Project Title |
Project Lead |
| 22590 |
Optimizing poultry nutrition and feed management in
terms of production efficiency and environmental management. |
S. Leeson |
| 23170 |
Application of transgenic methodology in swine for reduced
environmental impact and enhanced carcass quality. |
J. Phillips |
| 25320 |
Validation of operational modeling and monitoring (VOMM)
of nutrient outputs from cage-based aquaculture in the great lakes.
|
R. Moccia |
| 25595 |
Neural networks for predicting nitrate - nitrogen in
drainage water. |
S. Negi |
| 25606 |
Electrochemical oxidation of odour components of hog
manure. |
N. Bunce |
| 25607 |
Comparative determination of efficacy of the transgenic
phytase enviropig in digestive utilization of nutrients in plant feed
ingredients. |
M. Fan |
| 25612 |
Management strategies to minimize environmental impacts
and optimize profits in Ontario pork production considering pig genotype
by animal. |
K. DeLange |
| 25613 |
Chemical agents for the selective capture of heavy metals
from swine manure. |
A. Schwan |
| 25614 |
Development of anaerobic digestion processes for treating
swine manures and processed effluents. |
H. Zhou |
| 25616 |
Determination of true digestive efficiency of phosphorus
utilization in major plant feed ingredients for weaning and growing-finishing
pigs. |
M. Fan |
| 25622 |
Alternative feeds and management strategies to improve
growth performance, manure composition and carcass characteristics
and to minimize environmental impact of pigs. |
G. Ablett |
| 25673 |
Reduction of solid and phosphorus waste outputs of salmonids
through improvement of feed formulation. |
D. Bureau |
| 25794 |
Genetic aspects of nutrient utilization by beef cows
related to production efficiency and environmental concerns. |
S. Miller |
| 25851 |
Environmental, economic and health benefits of pasture-based
beef. |
E. A. Clark |
| 25941 |
Optimizing nutrition programs for poultry: Consideration
of productivity, bird health and environmental issue. |
S. Leeson |
| 25969 |
Efficiency of nitrogen utilization and growth in ruminants
fed grass\legume hay and supplemented with corn or soybean hulls. |
K. Swanson |
| 26001 |
Biofiltration as a means of odour and dust control in
animal housing facilities. |
M. Dixon |
| 26015 |
The Enviropig: From the research lab to the market
place.
|
J. P. Phillips |
| 26053 |
Waste signaturing: evaluating the utility of stable
isotope ratios for the identification of aquaculture effluent in the
natural environment. |
R. Moccia |
| 26056 |
Reducing the potential for nitrogen, phosphorus and
methane production in intensive dairy production operation in Ontario.
|
B. McBride |
| 26082 |
Modulation of intestinal fermentation and nutrient utilization
for reducing detrimental effects on the environment from swine production. |
M. Fan |
| 26105 |
Use of chemical chelation membrane filtration technologies
to control phosphorus release from recirculation aquaculture systems. |
H. Zhou |
Plants Research Program
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAFRA) supports
Plant related research under the broad headings of field crops, horticultural
crops and pest management through an agreement with the University of
Guelph. All research projects are required to address priorities identified
by the Ministry. Ministry priorities are developed through the Ontario
Agricultural Services Coordinating Committee (OASCC) structure. The Ontario
Horticultural Crops Research and Services Committee, the Ontario Field
Crops Research and Services Committee and the Ontario Pest Management
Research and Services Committee provide plant related input. Members of
these committees represent the agri-food industry, academia and government.
Table 3: Environment related projects funded through
the Plants Research Program
| OASIS # |
Project Title |
Project Lead |
| 25748 |
Production and pest management of mushrooms. |
D. L Rinker |
| 25749 |
Integration of crop rotations, tillage, cover crops,
manure and nutrient fertility in sustainable production systems. |
B. Deen |
| 25758 |
Environmentally friendly nursery production research.
|
C. Chong |
| 25764 |
Carbon sequestration and nitrous oxide emissions in
tree based agro- ecosystems. |
A. Gordon |
| 25788 |
Reproductive and vegetative physiology of advanced apple
orchard management systems. |
J. Cline |
| 25853 |
Development of integrated control systems and management
strategies for nutrient control in closed fertigation systems. |
M. Dixon |
| 25863 |
Production/management of floriculture greenhouse crops.
|
T. Blom |
| 25870 |
Impact of variable nitrogen application on crop yields
and potential nitrous oxide emissions from soil. |
I. O’Halloran |
| 25877 |
Unregulated metals in biosolids: Risks to the environment,
plant and human health. |
B. Hale |
| 25879 |
Integrated management of aerial root environments in
greenhouses-recirculating hydroponic systems |
B. Grodzinski |
| 25945 |
Development of environmentally friendly vegetable management
systems. |
A. McKeown |
| 26088 |
Production and nutritional guidelines for grape production
in Ontario. |
H. Fisher |
Sustainable Rural Communities
The overall objective of the SRC Research Program is to
create a system of intelligence for addressing vital research issues in
rural Ontario that have been defined by residents and organizational representatives
as significant for community prosperity.
Table 4: Environment related projects funded through
the Sustainable Rural Communities Research Program
1 Jointly funded with the Resources Management
and Environment program
| OASIS # |
Project Title |
Project Lead |
| 25974 |
Conflict resolution in rural Ontario: Responding to
the intensification of agriculture. 1 |
W. Caldwell |
| 26092 |
The impact of environmental management systems on agriculture
and environment in Ontario. |
J. FitzGibbon |
New Directions Research Program
The New Directions Research Program is an open competitive research fund
managed by the Innovation and Risk Management Branch of the Ontario Ministry
of Agriculture and Food. Since 1999, the program (formerly called the
Special Research Program) has committed $6.9 million to 138 research projects
at a wide variety of public and private research institutions.
The purpose of the program is to stimulate the sustainable growth and
competitiveness of Ontario’s agri-food and rural sectors through
investment in innovative and high quality research in partnership with
industry, rural communities/organizations, other levels of government
and research institutions. A wide variety of research priorities, including
environmental issues, are addressed through this program. Research priorities
supported by New Directions are established and published annually. Details
on the program including summaries of funded projects can be found at:
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/research/new_directions/index.html
Table 5: Environment related projects funded through New Directions/Special
Research Program.
| Project # |
Project Title |
Project Lead |
| SR9057 |
Identification of N management units using organic
carbon. |
B. Kay |
| SR9070 |
Removal efficiency of representative bacterial and protozoan
pathogens from cattle and pig farm wastewater using wetland technologies.
|
B. Warner & R. Slawson |
| SR9071 |
DNA fingerprinting analysis of Escherichia coli using
repetitive-element and toxin specific gene amplification to differentiate
pollution sources in the environment. |
M. Van Dyke |
| SR9080 |
The effect of nutrient availability on biogeochemical
processes affecting the transport of Esherichia coli in soils.
|
D. Fortin |
| SR9083 |
Identification of critical regions for water quality
monitoring with respect to risk of seasonal and annual water surplus.
|
C. Wagner- Riddle |
| SR9084 |
Quantifying preferential flow and recharge at the field
scale: the first step in characterizing the nature and timing of pathogen
transport to groundwater. |
G. Parkin |
| SR9087 |
The development of DNA microarray technology for use
in testing of key microbial contaminants in water samples. |
S. Chen |
| SR9110 |
Efficient and environmentally sound use of nitrogen
fertilizers, organic amendments, irrigation and herbicides in Ontario
orchards. |
J. Cline |
| SR9118 |
Assessment of the waterborne pathogen abatement effects
for agricultural land uses. |
R. Pushchak |
| SR9119 |
Development of alternative irrigation practices to improve
water-use efficiency, nutrient-use efficiency and water quality. |
R. Beyaert |
| SR9120 |
Conflict resolution in rural Ontario: Strategies for
responding to the environmental, economic and social impacts of agriculture. |
W. Caldwell |
| SR9121 |
Quantifying leaching of nutrients and bacteria and amount
of preferential flow under different management practices. |
J. Lauzon |
| SR9122 |
Phosphorus index validation and refinement for nutrient
management planning in Ontario. |
G. Wall |
| SR9123 |
Assessing composting, soil, crop and livestock management
for organic and transitional systems in Ontario. |
E.A. Clark |
| SR9134 |
A comparative study of the losses of nitrogen from various
forms of manure applied either in the fall or in the spring |
J. Lauzon |
| SR9135 |
Identification of best management practices that minimize
greenhouse gas and leaching losses to the environment. |
C. Wagner - Riddle |
| Top of Page |
Healthy Futures for Ontario Agriculture
The four-year, $90 million Healthy Futures for Ontario Agriculture program
was aimed at maintaining and building on the success of Ontario’s
agri-food industry.
Program focus was on encouraging the agri-food industry to: enhance the
safety and quality of Ontario food products, capitalize on marketing and
export opportunities and improve rural water quality and make efficient
use of rural water resources
The program invested in three main program initiatives:
- Rural Water Quality focused on implementing best management practices
or technologies in the agri-food sector to safeguard water quality and
quantity in rural Ontario
- Field to Fork Food Safety and Quality provided funding and access
to technical expertise to assist the agri-food sector in maintaining
and expanding its capacity to meet domestic and export market demands
with regard to food safety and quality
- Healthy Futures Innovation supported applied research, new product
development, expanded market access and the creation or adoption of
technologies, practices and processes that enhance food safety and water
quality. This includes implementing new verification and reporting systems.
Table 6: Environment related research projects funded through Healthy
Futures for Ontario Agriculture
| OASIS # |
Project Title |
Project Lead |
| 2059 |
Protecting water quality through improved storage methods
for poultry manure |
G. Wall & D. King |
| 2198 |
Advanced Manure Management Technologies for Ontario
(AMMTO) |
R. St. Jean |
Toll Free: 1-888-466-2372 ext. 64554
