Kim Schneider

Kim Schneider
University of Guelph | UOGuelph · Department of Plant Agriculture

PhD

About

31
Publications
6,579
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1,026
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Introduction
My research interests focus on assessing the agro-ecological benefits provided by forage and service crops (enhanced soil and water quality, nutrient cycling and nutrient use efficiencies, mitigating net greenhouse gas emissions, and improved biodiversity) and how targeted agroecosystem management can augment these benefits.

Publications

Publications (31)
Article
Full-text available
Soil Phosphorus Forms from Organic and Conventional Forage Fields Abstract Recent studies exploring soil phosphorus (P) status of organic dairy farms in Canada report low concentrations of Olsen soil test P (STP), yet the impact on crop productivity is unclear. It is suggested that soil biological activity, including organic P mineralization, may s...
Article
Low concentrations of Olsen soil test phosphorus (STP) on organic dairy farms in Canada have been reported, however, the resulting impact on crop productivity is unclear. This study evaluated mixed forage (alfalfa [Medicago sativa L.]/timothy [Phleum pratense L.]) productivity, nutrient uptake, and related soil biological and biochemical properties...
Article
Full-text available
Snowmelt runoff often comprises the majority of annual runoff in the Canadian Prairies and a significant proportion of total nutrient loss from agricultural land to surface water. Our objective was to determine the effect of agroecosystem management on snowmelt runoff and nutrient losses from a long‐term field experiment at Swift Current, SK. Runof...
Article
Full-text available
Soil phosphorus (P) cycling in agroecosystems is highly complex, with many chemical, physical, and biological processes affecting the availability of P to plants. Traditionally, P fertilizer recommendations have been made using an insurance‐based approach, which has resulted in the accumulation of P in many intensively managed agricultural soils wo...
Article
Full-text available
Phosphorus (P) runoff from agriculture exacerbates eutrophication globally. Despite diverse mitigation options, the issue persists, necessitating the evaluation of slow-release fertilizers for crop production to minimize environmental P losses. Struvite, a P-rich, recycled product with low water solubility, holds promise for minimizing off-site env...
Article
Full-text available
Information is required to understand how novel biodiversity strategies can improve cropping system resilience to climate change. A “business as usual” (BAU) rotation (wheat–canola–wheat–soybean) was compared with a “warm-season crop” (WS) rotation (corn–sunflower–dry bean–canola); a “biodiverse” (BD) rotation (fall rye with cover crop– corn/soybea...
Article
Full-text available
Struvite (NH4MgPO4·6H2O) may be an appropriate fertilizer to address phosphorus (P) deficiencies in organic cropping systems, but field studies assessing crop response to struvite are lacking. Field experiments were conducted over 3 yr on a low‐P, alkaline soil in Manitoba to assess the effect of struvite application rate on the yield and P accumul...
Article
Full-text available
Balancing the weighting of various components of phosphorus loss in models is a critical but often overlooked step in accurate estimation of risk of P loss under field conditions. This study compared the P loss coefficients used to predict dissolved P losses from desorption from accumulated P in the soil, and those incidental to applications of P a...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Soil phosphorus (P) deficiency is common in organic cropping systems in which access to manure or other suitable P sources is limited. Insufficient P supply may be particularly detrimental to crop yields in systems relying on biological nitrogen fixation by legumes. High-purity struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate) recovered from wast...
Conference Paper
Struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate) is a sparingly soluble, phosphorus (P)-rich mineral that can be recovered from wastewater streams and is gaining attention as a slow-release fertilizer. Crop productivity response to struvite is often greater than expected based on the low solubility of struvite in water, indicating that processes...
Poster
Struvite is a phosphorus (P)-rich mineral that can be extracted from wastewater for use as a fertilizer, but its impact on the soil biological community is unknown. Many crop plants associate with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to help access soil P and other resources, but addition of soluble P fertilizers typically reduces AMF colonization of...
Conference Paper
Phosphorus (P) nutrition of field crops is challenging on organic farms without an adequate supply of manure or other P-rich amendments. High-purity struvite extracted from municipal wastewater has been proposed as a suitable P source for organic cropping systems. Greater understanding of crop agronomic response to struvite is needed to develop app...
Article
Phosphorus (P) loss to freshwater is a key driver of eutrophication, and understanding the scale and spatial distribution of potential P sources is a key pre-requisite for implementing policies for P management to minimize environmental impacts. Soil test P (STP) is a useful indicator of the accumulation of P in soils, but these data are not readil...
Article
Full-text available
Adequate phosphorus (P) is needed for crop production, but excessive P poses a potential risk to water quality. Results from the cumulative P balance calculations within the indicator of risk of water contamination by phosphorus (IROWC‐P) developed in Canada were assessed to determine the spatial and temporal trends in P accumulation at a regional...
Poster
Full-text available
This preliminary field study examined response of grain and forage crops under organic management to addition of struvite fertilizer in a low-phosphorus (P), high-pH soil in Manitoba, Canada. Struvite addition increased spring wheat grain yield in one of two years, but did not affect flax grain yield. Struvite addition increased alfalfa-grass forag...
Article
Full-text available
Phosphorus (P) loss to surface freshwater is a key driver of environmental degradation, including blooms of both harmful (e.g., microcystis) and nuisance (e.g., cladophora) algae, along with the development of hypoxic zones that could significantly impact fish habitat. Mitigating P losses from agricultural land will require a detailed understanding...
Article
Low concentrations of Olsen soil test phosphorus (STP) on organic dairy farms in Canada have been reported, however, the resulting impact on crop productivity is unclear. This study evaluated mixed forage [Medicago sativa L. (alfalfa) / Phleum pratense L. (timothy)] productivity, nutrient uptake, and related soil biological and biochemical properti...
Article
Soil phosphorus (P) tests are designed to indicate plant-available inorganic orthophosphate (Pi), but fail to account for Pi that may become available through organic phosphorus (Po) mineralization. This P source may be especially important in soils with low concentrations of solution and labile Pi. We assessed gross Po mineralization and immobiliz...
Thesis
Recent studies exploring soil phosphorus (P) fertility on dairy farms under organic management in Canada have reported low concentrations of Olsen soil test P (STP), yet the impact on crop productivity is not clear. In this thesis, soil biological and biochemical properties relating to plant P availability in perennial forage fields (Medicago sativ...
Chapter
Under the rules of organic certification, phosphorus (P) deficiency in crops can be an important limitation to production. Phosphorus is notoriously difficult to extract from the soil; however, many plants have evolved to form a symbiotic association with soil fungi to cope with this difficulty. This chapter considers the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM...
Article
Phosphorus deficiencies are limiting crop production in agricultural soils worldwide. Locally available sources of raw phosphate rock (PR) are being recognized for their potential role in soil fertility improvement. Phosphorus bioavailability is essential for the efficiency of PRs and can be increased by acid treatments. The utilization of organic...
Article
Plants colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi have been shown to respond positively to the application of insoluble forms of inorganic phosphorus (P) such as rock phosphates (RPs). The mechanism(s) underlying such responses remain(s) unknown and although it has been hypothesized, there is no experimental support for the production of chelat...
Thesis
Phosphorus deficiencies are limiting crop production in agricultural soils worldwide. Locally available sources of phosphate rock (PR) are being recognized for their potential role in soil fertility improvement. For applications of PR to be effective, the phosphorus must be made plant-available. Modification with acid-producing microorganisms has t...
Article
Full-text available
Deficiency in plant-available phosphorus is considered to be a major limiting factor to food production in many agricultural soils. Mineral resources are necessary to restore soil phosphorus content. In regions where conventional fertilizers are not used due to cost limitations or to mitigate adverse environmental effects, local sources of phosphat...
Article
About 99% of soil microorganisms are unculturable. However, advances in molecular biology techniques allow for the analysis of living microorganisms. With the advent of new technologies and the optimization of previous methods, various approaches to studying gene expression are expanding the field of microbiology and molecular biology. Methods used...

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