How can we apply “systems thinking” to carbon as it flows through plants, animals, soils, crops, and the atmosphere? How can we go beyond simplistic stories about sequestration? AAFC’s Dr. Henry Janzen has many years of experience in studying and thinking about carbon as it flows through the biosphere and through farm fields. Join us to learn more about the world around us, what we can do on our farms, and what policies might be needed to build soil health, reduce emissions, and foster resilience.
Dr. Henry Janzen is an Honorary Research Associate with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, AB. As a soil biochemist, he has studied the flows of carbon and nutrients through farmlands, looking for ways to sustain their many functions: furnishing food, providing livelihoods, maintaining biodiversity, and buffering climate. He has written extensively about the role of soils in mitigating climate change as well as soil nitrogen dynamics, whole-farm GHG modelling, restorative cropping systems, and the place of livestock in ecosystems. More recently, he has contemplated how solar energy streams through ecosystems, impelling their various functions and renewing their health. In all of these inquiries, he has sought a long-term view, reaching deep into the past and also trying to foresee how today’s choices shape the future.
