Maine’s Soil Carbon: Attention to Landscapers and Gardeners

Soil carbon sequestration, also known as “carbon farming” or “regenerative agriculture,” is a technique valuable to anyone working with soil, no matter the scale. While many of us think that more plantings are helpful, additional soil management practices like “no till” are valuable ways of further sequestering carbon. Dr. Ivan Fernandez, Maine soil scientist and researcher focusing on Maine’s carbon cycle, will discuss the “good, bad, and ugly” of carbon as well as what can be done to help slow down and reduce Maine’s carbon footprint. Join us to hear current statistics and methods contributing to Maine’s efforts to mitigate carbon pollution.

The Green Spotlight Series is produced in partnership with the Maine Landscape and Nursery Association. MELNA members can register using the member price and will receive one recertification credit when they attend the live Zoom session.

J. Fernandez, soil scientist and biogeochemist, is a professor in the School of Forest Resources, Climate Change Institute, and School of Food and Agriculture at the University of Maine. Since 2000, he has served on various U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board committees in Washington, D.C., and he recently chaired a panel of the EPA Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC). He represents the University of Maine in the USDA Northeast Climate Hub and has been involved in leading the Maine’s Climate Future assessments. Appointed to the Maine Climate Council in 2019, he also serves as Co-Chair of its Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, and as a member of its Natural Working Lands working group. He was also a member of the 2021 Governor’s Maine Forest Carbon Task Force.