Soil carbon management in Okanagan apple (Malus domestica) orchards
department or school: Land and Food Systems, Faculty of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Damin, Sebastian
issued: 2025-05-15T23:26:06Z
issued: 2025
related degree: Master of Science - MSc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Strategies to promote capture and sequestration of CO₂ are necessary for achieving our climate mitigation goals in agriculture. Management of the orchard soil under crop trees to maximize storage of soil organic carbon (SOC), using diverse practices such as rootstock selection, application of organic mulches and cultivation of cover crops, have been proposed as low barrier approaches that remain under-studied. Increasing frequency of extreme drought events has also raised questions regarding irrigation costs/benefits associated with more intensive orchard soil management. To effectively evaluate use of orchard soil for long-term carbon storage we must also understand the resilience of newly stored SOC to future climate warming. My research investigated changes in SOC in the crop rows of a newly planted Okanagan apple (Malus domestica) orchard under diverse orchard soil management practices. I found that after two seasons, rootstock Malling 9 (M9) or Budogovski 9 (B9) did not affect total SOC content or concentration; woodchip mulch and a green mulch of woolly thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus) had limited effects on total SOC compared to conventionally managed bare soil, but particulate organic carbon was significantly higher under woolly thyme. I also evaluated tree water status and performance (as indicated by photosynthesis rates, and stomatal conductance) under each orchard soil management treatment during well-watered and simulated drought conditions. I found that in well-watered conditions, tree performance was similar among bare soil, woolly thyme and woodchip mulch treatments. During a week-long simulated drought, however, tree performance was better maintained under woodchip mulch but significantly reduced under woolly thyme compared to bare soil. Rootstock did not affect tree performance in either well-watered or drought conditions. Finally, I used Open Top Chambers (OTC) over two growing seasons to evaluate changes in the concentration of SOC in orchard dri…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/91150
note: SOIL CARBON MANAGEMENT IN OKANAGAN APPLE (MALUS DOMESTICA) ORCHARDS by Sebastian Damin B.Sc., Simon Fraser University, 2021 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (Soil Science) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) May 2025 © Sebastian Damin, 2025 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, a thesis entitled: Soil carbon management in Okanagan apple (Malus domestica) orchards Submitted by Sebastian Damin in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Soil Science. Dr. Sean Smukler, Associate Professor, Department of Land and Food Systems, UBC Supervisor Dr. Kirsten Hannam, Systems Agro-Ecologist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Co-supervisor Dr. Mark Johnson, Professor, Department of Science, UBC Additional Examiner Additional Committee Members include: Dr. Thorsten Knipfer, Associate Professor, Department of Land and Food Systems, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Dr. David Ensing, Plant Community Ecologist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract Strategies to promote capture and sequestration of CO2 are necessary for achieving our climate mitigation goals in agriculture. Management of the orchard soil under crop trees to maximize storage of soil organic carbon (SOC), using diverse practices such as rootstock selection, application of organic mulches and cultivation of cover crops, have been proposed as low barrier approaches that remain under-studied. Increasing frequency of extreme drought events has also raised questions regarding irrigation costs/benefits associated with more intensive orchard soil management. To effectively evaluate use of orchard soil for long-term carbon storage we must also understand the resilience of newly stored SOC to future climate warming. My research …
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2025-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0448901
language: eng
degree discipline: Soil Science
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Smukler, Sean
contributor: Hannam, Kirsten
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/91150