Trees, Applied Ecology, and the Soil Inventory Project with Kris Covey

Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick! 

On today’s episode, we talk with Kris Covey, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Sciences at Skidmore College, and the Co-founder and President of the Soil Inventory Project about Trees, Applied Ecology, and the Soil Inventory Project.   Read his full bio below.

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Showtimes:
1:18  Nic & Laura discuss when nature calls
5:53  Interview with Kris Covey starts
12:10  Applied Ecology
20:24  Trees
26:39  The Soil Inventory Project
36:11  Field Notes

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This podcast is produced by the National Association of Environmental Professions (NAEP). Check out all the NAEP has to offer at NAEP.org.

Connect with Kris Covey at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristofer-covey-4ab66926/

Guest Bio:
Kris Covey is an Assistant Professor in the Environmental Studies and Sciences Program at Skidmore College where he studies terrestrial ecosystems and their role in climate and life. An Applied Ecologist, and a Biogeochemist, Kris works to integrate his research into solutions for managing human dominated landscapes for multiple values. After designing the global study that provided the first robust estimate of number of trees on earth (3.04 trillion), Kris turned his focus to large-scale soil carbon mapping using a novel combination of existing technologies. Prior to joining the faculty at Skidmore College, Dr. Covey was the Lead Scientist at the Ucross High Plains Stewardship Initiative and a Lecturer in Forest Dynamics at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. There, he co-founded the Western Research Fellowship at the Ucross Highplains Stewardship Initiative and the Quick Carbon research program, served as a member of the School's Diversity and Inclusion Strategy Committee, and as a member of Yale University’s Carbon Offset Task Force. As a contributor to the Global Carbon Project's Methane Working Group, Kris authored the vegetation section of the Global Methane Budget. He serves as a member of the Board of Trusties for The Adirondack Nature Conservancy and the New York State Wood Products Development Council.
 
In 2020 Kris Co-Founded The Soil Inventory Project (TSIP.org) along with Bruno Basso. Together with private, industry, academic, and foundation partners they are building a distributed national-scale soil inventory system to inform soil management and markets. Through a novel combination of app-based automated sampling design, and distributed soil sampling tools allowing anyone to collect near surface soil samples, TSIP is building regional scale models capable of linking individual producer practices to measurable outcomes.

Music Credits
Intro: Givin Me Eyes by Grace Mesa
Outro: Never Ending Soul Groove by Mattijs Muller

Chapters

• 1:18 Nic & Laura discuss when nature calls
• 5:53 Interview with Kristofer Covey starts
• 12:10 Applied Ecology
• 20:24 Trees
• 26:39 The Soil Inventory Project
• 36:11 Field Notes