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By Alice McFarlane

University Soil Lab upgrade

USask to conduct soil research more quickly, efficiently and with greater detail

Sep 16, 2024 | 10:12 AM

Soil science plays a crucial role in understanding how plants grow and can be used in research that combats climate change.

The University of Saskatchewan (USask) has received more than three quarters of a million dollars to upgrade and overhaul its soil sciences laboratory.

The funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) supports innovative research and research infrastructure projects across the country.

Dr. Colin Laroque (PhD), the head of the Department of Soil Science, said this funding will help upgrade the tools and technology of the Bank of Montreal (BMO) Soil Analytical Laboratory to match the skills and expertise of the researchers at USask.

“We think we’re leaders in this field. To have an outside agency affirm this is a pat on the back,” he said. “We’re updating our science and equipment to be a definite leader in the country.”

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The JELF funding will go towards the purchase and installation of 11 new tools in the BMO Soil Analytical Laboratory. These new devices will give researchers a leg up when working on research projects. It will include instruments like mass spectrometers used for detailed soil chemical analyses.

Soil science research includes many facets, including the chemical composition of the soil, nutritional inputs and outputs, microbes living in the soil, greenhouse gas sequestration and emissions, and much more.

Interest in soil health has been steadily growing over the past few decades. As technology has continued to improve, more and more indicators of soil health have been identified and can be measured using newly developed tools and techniques, according to Laroque.

“If you want to be the biggest and best, you should be leading the game, and we do,” he said. “We have some of the best soil science minds in the country in this department, and to keep them working on the cutting edge we need the best tools … and our partners across the country can use them too.”

USask is home to many top-tier researchers in the agricultural field and has become a preferred location for companies developing new research technologies to co-ordinate with those working in the industry.

“It’s not so much that we have one person who is the beacon – it’s the group of beacons that we have,” Laroque said. “Many of these people are leaders in the country, or internationally – we know that, and we’re told that. To put them all on one application, one piece of paper, it’s humbling. That’s why a grant like this can come to our department.”

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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