Start Date
1-11-2021 3:45 PM
End Date
1-11-2021 5:00 PM
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
Urban, community farming seeks to provide access to affordable, healthy, culturally-appropriate produce via cooperatively-run growing spaces. However, the threat of contaminated soils so common to older cities can limit the scale of production and/or necessitates costly remediation efforts. Although there are rough guidelines outlining at what level a soil is unsafe for growing food, there are many uncertainties as to which crops might be safe in soils with slightly elevated (but below guidelines) levels of contaminants and to what degree soil biology affects uptake. We grew mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal root, leafy green, and fruit crops representing five different plant families at an urban community farm with low and moderately high levels of heavy metal contamination. Preliminary results will be discussed.
Biography
Eric Vukicevich earned a BS in Viticulture from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2010 and a PhD in Biology (Soil Microbial Ecology) from the University of British Columbia – Okanagan in 2019. He is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Botany at Connecticut College, specializing in Sustainable Agriculture. At Connecticut College he teaches courses in agriculture and mycology and oversees the student farm, Sprout.
Additional Links
ORCID
Giving beets a chance: Heavy metal accumulation in mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal crops at an urban farm
Urban, community farming seeks to provide access to affordable, healthy, culturally-appropriate produce via cooperatively-run growing spaces. However, the threat of contaminated soils so common to older cities can limit the scale of production and/or necessitates costly remediation efforts. Although there are rough guidelines outlining at what level a soil is unsafe for growing food, there are many uncertainties as to which crops might be safe in soils with slightly elevated (but below guidelines) levels of contaminants and to what degree soil biology affects uptake. We grew mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal root, leafy green, and fruit crops representing five different plant families at an urban community farm with low and moderately high levels of heavy metal contamination. Preliminary results will be discussed.