Sustainability College of Agricultural and Environmental

Sciences

Presented bySusan Varlamoff, Director, Office of Environmental Sciences

UGA Sustainability Working Group

Water Quantity - agriculture

Breeding and genomic work - produces drought tolerant cropsConservation tillage – reduces evaporation of water from soilsPrecision agriculture - uses wireless network, GPS, aerial maps,

low pressure valves, soil moisture metersRecycling water on dairy farms, greenhouses, poultry processing plants

Golf course BMPs for water conservation – 1st in the worldSeashore paspalum grass – uses 50% less water than BermudaXeriscape landscape – uses 50% less waterBreeding drought tolerant ornamental plantsIrrigation system improvements – drip, timers, rain shut off valvesWater collection devices - cisterns, rain barrels etc.

Water Quantity – urban landscapes

Water Quality

Stream buffer & wetland studies – to reduce nonpoint source pollutionLow dissolved O2 in S. Georgia streams – naturally occurringAg P2 – practices for land application of manure & chicken litterMigration of contaminants in soilMethod to track fecal coliform and sediment source in streamsBMPs for Georgia Gardeners to reduce nonpoint source pollutionWatershed modeling

Sustainable FarmingSustainable Farming

Powered by solar, wind, biogas and biofuelsUses pest resistant &drought tolerant crops

Minimize fertilizer and pesticide useOrganic agriculture

Integrated pest managementConservation/ no till agriculture

Precision Irrigation Restores soil fertility – biochar

Pest resistant and drought tolerant ornamentals & turfgrassIntegrated pest management

BMPs for home gardeners to reduce nonpoint source pollutionRain barrels, cisterns – collect rain water

Rain gardens, swales - manage storm waterIrrigation improvements - rainfall shutoffs, drip etc.

Sustainable Gardening

Ecosystem Services

Determine value of ecosystem services - water purification, waste degradation, nutrient cycling

Assess land needed to maintain ecosystem services in Georgia

Use of buffers and wetlands to mitigate nonpoint source pollution

Integrated biorefinery – full carbon cycling – end product biochar used to restore soil fertility

Breeding and genetic modifying crops for bioenergyBiogas on dairy farmsAg waste - chicken litter, wood chips, peanut and pecan shells, etc. as feedstocks Life cycle analysis and sustainability studies.

Member of National BioEnergy Science CenterWinner of Grand Challenge competition

Bioenergy

Carbon sequestration in forestsCarbon sequestration in soils

EnvirotronGeorgia Automated Environmental Monitoring Network

Southeastern Climate Consortium

Climate forecasting/change

EcuadorHonduras

MexicoCosta Rica

ChileBrazil

MoroccoTanzania

MaliUganda

Burkino FasoSouth Africa

FranceAustria

ItalyChinaIndiaJapan

ThailandAustralia

Global Programs

For more information: CAES Office of Environmental Scienceshttp://www.caes.uga.edu/unit/oes

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