SES seminar - Dr. Adam Gillespie

We welcome our own Dr. Adam Gillespie. Dr. Gillespie will talk about "Soil organic matter stability – insights from analytical pyrolysis". Dr. Adam Gillespie is an Associate Professor with the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph. 

Abstract

Soil organic matter is implicated in almost all aspects of sustainable farming and is now becoming an important component of climate policy and economics.  Its contribution to sustainable agriculture arises because organic matter participates in most of the soil processes that build crop yield resiliency.  Economically and politically, organic matter represents a potential repository of atmospheric carbon, and frameworks are emerging to monetize this process.  Nevertheless, sustainable agriculture and climate policy depend on understanding the susceptibility of soil organic matter to decomposition.  
Analytical pyrolysis refers to the process of heating in the absence of oxygen. In this process, heat energy breaks chemical bonds and volatilizes the fragments.  We have found that there is a relationship between the heat energy required to pyrolyze organic matter and its susceptibility to decomposition.  In this talk, I will present findings that link the behaviour of soil organic matter under pyrolysis with land use and organic matter stability.

Bio

Adam Gillespie (Associate Professor, Guelph) is with the School of Environmental Sciences. His research focuses on soil organic matter and its integral role in sustainable agriculture, soil health, and ecosystem resilience. His research program examines land use and ecosystem influences on soil organic matter dynamics and their relationship with soil fertility and carbon cycling in both the lab and field settings. He has expertise in applying both infrared and X-ray spectroscopy and pyrolysis techniques to study how soil organic matter chemistry and persistence relate to soil health and land use change.
 

You can learn more about Dr. Gillespie's research on his website.