A Living Laboratory for Biodiversity Monitoring at UBC Farm

A Living Lab for Biodiversity Monitoring at UBC Farm

A Living Laboratory for Biodiversity Monitoring in Diversified Agroecosystems

Project Lead

Juli Carrillo, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Land and Food Systems (Co-PI)

Matthew Mitchell, Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (Co-PI)

Funding

BRITE, the VPRI Biodiversity Research Excellence Cluster, the VPRI Diversified Agroecosytem Research Excellence Cluster & the UBC Campus as a Living Laboratory Initiative

About the Project

Biodiversity, across multiple scales and levels is the foundation of agricultural productivity and contributes essential ecosystem functions and services to food systems. The UBC Farm provides a unique opportunity to monitor the biodiversity important for agroecosystem food production and other ecosystem services, with future opportunities to connect this to other socio-ecological outcomes relevant to the broader community and food systems. Long Term Biodiversity Monitoring will ensure that the diversity of life at the UBC Farm, including birds, plants, and insects, is recorded each year. This will help us understand how biodiversity at the UBC Farm is changing over time and how this affects important ecosystem services (benefits we can receive from the natural environment) that aid people, help crops grow, and contribute to overall ecosystem sustainability.

Project Progress

In 2019, cluster members Matthew Mitchell, Juli Carrillo, and Hannah Wittman secured funding from the UBC Campus as a Living Laboratory Initiative, BRITE, the VPRI Biodiversity Research Excellence Cluster, and the VPRI Diversified Agroecosystems Research Excellence Cluster to implement a long-term monitoring program for biodiversity at the UBC Farm. The UBC Farm provides a unique opportunity to monitor the biodiversity important for agroecosystem food production and other ecosystem services, with future opportunities to connect this to other socio-ecological outcomes relevant to the broader community and food systems. Long Term Biodiversity Monitoring will ensure that the diversity of life at the UBC Farm, including birds, plants, and insects, is recorded each year. This will help us understand how biodiversity at the UBC Farm is changing over time and how this affects important ecosystem services (benefits we can receive from the natural environment) that aid people, help crops grow, and contribute to overall ecosystem sustainability.

An overview of the Biodiversity Monitoring Project with Matt Mitchell

External Links and Publications

 

Read the Long-Term Biodiversity Monitoring Plan here.

   

Photo credit: Wolf Read