Alex Koiter is an associate professor in the Department of Geography & Environment at Brandon University. His research program focuses on investigating the interactions between land and water management practices and geomorphology on soil and water quality. His research group investigates a wide range of agricultural issues including soil erosion, downstream sedimentation, nutrient dynamics, greenhouse gas fluxes, and extremes of moisture.

Today, Alex is sharing information from his research on grazing riparian areas. First, we start off with what a riparian area is and how these change seasonally and annually depending on water levels. Alex also shares what the role of a riparian area is and why they are so important not only to agriculture and the environment, but also to recreational activities and in particular, their importance during years of drought.

We chat about phosphorus loading and the concern that the freeze thaw cycle in Canada brings about when talking about phosphorus. Removing vegetation prior to freeze up can help with soil phosphorus content, and Alex shares why grazing and using livestock to remove this biomass is preferred over mechanical options. We also talk about how this is contradictory to what the current best practices are for management of riparian areas and what risks might be associated with giving livestock access to those riparian areas.

Alex offers an overview of the “Effects of Riparian Grazing on Distinct Phosphorus Sources” study. Including his findings from this research and recommendations he would make to producers who are looking to graze riparian areas in this way. We wrap up with discussing what Alex hopes to tackle next in this research and the larger scale study that he would like to see.

This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through the federal Department of Environment and Climate Change and a Lake Winnipeg Basin Program grant awarded to the Manitoba Association of Watersheds. Additional research funding was provided through a Brandon University Research Committee grant awarded to Alex Koiter.

To find out more, please visit:

www.alexkoiter.ca or Effects of Riparian Grazing on Distinct Phosphorus Sources, Koiter A & Malone T. Aug. 6, 2024 https://alexkoiter.ca/riparian-grazing-manuscript/

Or contact Alex at koitera@brandonu.ca or find him on Twitter @Alex_Koiter or on Mastodon.

The research programs and daily operations at MBFI would not be possible without the funding from the Province of Manitoba, Government of Canada, and Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, as well as the partnership with Manitoba Agriculture, Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) and Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC).

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