OGeMOS Project: Developing and deploying an online tool for managing soil organic matter

Aubert Michaud, retraité

Researcher, Ph.D.

Contact Aubert Michaud, retraité
Marc-Olivier Gasser, researcher

Marc-Olivier Gasser

Researcher, agr., Ph.D.

418 643-2380
ext 650

Contact Marc-Olivier Gasser

Simon Ricard

Researcher

418 643-2380
ext 691

Contact Simon Ricard

Description

A healthy humic balance is essential to ensuring soil health, conservation, and fertility. This project will develop a versatile tool that will allow farmers and their consultants to simulate the impacts of agricultural practices on soil organic matter. It will help users develop a long-term perspective on soil organic matter conservation, while managing crops on a day-to-day basis. The tool will support field diagnostic efforts by projecting how alternative management practices—crop choice, green manures, removal of crop residues (straw, stems, etc.), and organic soil amendments of various kinds—can impact the humic balance over time.

Objective(s)

  • Review the current knowledge on soil organic matter modelling.
  • Reassess crop coefficients related to Québec’s main crops.
  • Develop a modular and customizable open-source tool that can be used independently or integrated into other software.
  • Provide the appropriate documentation for the platform developed.
  • Develop target values for soil organic matter content for the different regions of Québec.
  • Develop agricultural practice change scenarios.
  • Use Québec’s agro-climatic records to verify the impacts of the soil and climate variable and the soil drainage class on changes in the soil’s organic matter content.

From 2019 to 2021

Project duration

Field crops, Market gardening

Activity areas

Soil health, Fertilizer management

Services

Partner

Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation – Programme Prime-Vert

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