Toward net-zero farming systems using diversity, integration, and perenniality in the Black Soil Zone of the Canadian prairies: A co-design approach

• Transdisciplinary approach links soil, crop, and social research pillars • Peri-perennial practices will enhance soil health, biodiversity, and climate resilience • Landscape studies assess trade-offs in productivity, well-being, and biodiversity • Modelling connects farm data and GHG emissions for future farm scenario planning • Multi-metric data will inform policy supporting long-term agricultural resiliency Agricultural production in Canada’s Black Soil Zone is highly productive but dependent on simplified monoculture systems that contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, biodiversity loss, and soil degradation. The “Leveraging Ecosystems to transform Agriculture on the Prairies” (LEAP) Project addresses these challenges through an interdisciplinary, co-design approach focused on enhancing diversity, integration, and perenniality in cropping systems. LEAP integrates biophysical research with farmer and Indigenous community perspectives to evaluate both ecological and social dimensions of agricultural transformation. The project is organized around five interconnected Pillars: (1) farmer leadership, emphasizing co-learning and mental health in sustainable decision-making; (2) First Nations self-determined farming systems, elevating Indigenous knowledge and governance; (3) landscape analyses of farmer-led annual, peri-perennial and perennial practices; (4) experimental field studies testing novel integrations of cover crops, intercropping, pollinator habitats, and livestock; and (5) scenario modelling using the Holos platform to assess system-level GHG outcomes and trade-offs. Together, these Pillars aim to identify strategies that support climate resilience, soil health, biodiversity, and farmer well-being while addressing economic and policy realities. This multi-metric, co-design approach also includes program and policy development which is essential to impacting long-term resiliency in the Canadian Black Soil Zone and the greater agricultural landscape.