Mehdi Sharifi, Ph.D.

Post-doctoral fellow, Organic cropping systems

I was born and raised in Abadeh, a small town in central Iran. I have been exposed to agriculture from early childhood and bonded with it ever since. My father has a beautiful garden and a cereal field in a nearby village. I used to help him in cultivation, irrigation and harvest.

After finishing my diploma, I was admitted to Isfahan University of Technology for a Bachelor’s degree in soil science. Thereafter, I earned my MSc in soil fertility and PhD in soil fertility and plant nutrition from the same school. I was awarded a year of research scholarship during my PhD program to study “influence of root morphology on nitrogen uptake in potato crop” at Potato Research Center, Fredericton, NB.

After earning my PhD degree, I taught soil fertility and fertilizer course in BSc and MSc level at Tabriz University. I returned to Canada for a NSERC postdoctoral fellowship on “soil nitrogen mineralization” at Potato Research Center, Fredericton, NB in 2005. I finished my postdoctoral in February 2008 with some great research experiences and several publications. During these years, I met some of my best friends whom I am going to miss a lot.

I was always interested in organic agriculture systems and environmental issues related to agriculture systems. Receiving a post-doctoral fellowship offer from Organic Agriculture Center of Canada was an exciting opportunity for me to fulfill my dreams and to make a contribution to organic agriculture, soil quality and health, and environmental sustainability.

My research interests are: sustainable agriculture systems; greenhouse gas emission and climate change; nutrient fate and cycling in agro-ecosystems; effect of agricultural management practices and cropping systems on soil nutrient cycling, uptake and losses from the system; carbon balance and sequestration in agroecosystems; organic waste management; manure and compost production and application.

I believe “We do not inherit air, soil and water from our ancestors: we borrow them from our children. They are vulnerable; they require respect, protection, and care.”

 

Organic Agriculture Center of Canada
Nova Scotia Agriculture Collage
Truro, Nova Scotia
B2N 5E3

Email address:msharifi@nsac.ca

 

Posted April 2008