STAFF

Academic Staff

• Assoc Professor Bing So (Soil Physics)

• Assoc Professor Neal Menzies (Soil Chemistry)

• Professor Clive Bell (Mined Land Rehabilitation)

• Dr Peter Dart (Soil Biology)

• Dr Gunnar Kirchhof (Land Resource Science)

• Mr Graham Kerven

• Assoc Professor David Edwards (Plant Nutrition)

Research Staff

• Emeritus Professor Colin Asher

• Assoc Prof Pax Blamey

• Dr Kamal Yatapanage

• Dr Jane O’Sullivan

• Dr Bernard Wehr

• Dr Abigail Makim

• Dr V. Manoharan

• Mr Ross Bigwood

• Ms Kathryn Page

• Ms Janette Mercer

• Mr Greg Browne

• Mr Michael Geyer

GOALS
The Soil Science and Land Resources Group aims to maintain its high national and international reputation. The group has considerable skills and experience in teaching and research in the fundamental areas of soil science (physics, chemistry, plant nutrition, micro-biology and pedology) and applied aspects of soil fertility, acid soil infertility, soil management and structural degradation, soil erosion and conservation, waste management and rehabilitation of mined or highly disturbed lands. The group has a unique position as the only provider of training and research in tropical and sub-tropical Soil Science. This presents both an excellent opportunity to conduct strategic research, and to train future soil scientists on soil and land resource problems relevant to these regions, in particular Northern Australia.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the Soils and Land Resources group are to:

• train high quality graduates and post-graduates to work as professionals in national and international areas of agricultural, natural resources and environmental interest.

• conduct fundamental and applied research in areas that are of interest to the agricultural, natural resources and environmental industries and communities, both national and international

• disseminate the findings in the form of  scientific papers in journals and reports at conferences.

• provide access to expertise and facilities to government, industry and the community.

AREAS OF SPECIALISATION/ RESEARCH
Much of the research in the Soils and Land Resources group involves post-graduate students.  The three major areas that are actively researched and will remain active into the next century are: 

1. The Science and Management of Degraded Lands
Programs are directed at the prevention, correction and amelioration of problems associated with man’s activities in the agricultural industries. Four main research programs are covered under this heading: 

• includes surface crusting, hardsetting, compaction, waterlogging, poor infiltration and drainage, leading to poor crop establishment, reduced crop growth and soil erosion. 

 

• Soil fertility decline and acid soil infertility are a major threat to productivity in Australia as well as in the developing world as farmers continue to mine the soil for essential nutrient elements without replacing them. 

• The diagnosis and correction of plant nutrient deficiencies and toxicities.  

• Soil microbiological processes, involving rhizobia and vesicular-arbusculular mycorrhiza (VAM), which are an important element in soil fertility studies.

2. Land Application of Waste Materials
Growing population and associated urbanisation in both industrialised and developing countries have put pressure on basic public facilities like safe water supply and appropriate waste disposal services. Current practices are unsuitable for the next millennium and land application of waste material, where the soil acts as a buffer or filtration system will be one option available for disposal. This program deals with research into the limitations of the soil and the development of appropriate management practices for application of waste onto land. 

3. Rehabilitation of Mined Lands
Mining of underground resources such as coal and metalliferous materials will continue to be a major activity in Australia and the world into the next millennium, resulting in highly disturbed landscapes that are visually unacceptable and are potentially a major source of pollution to the environment. Public perceptions, and the threat of environmental pollution from these disturbed landscapes demand that they be rehabilitated towards an acceptable post-mining land use. In collaboration with the Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation, the Soils and Land Resources group are actively involved in research into the science, rehabilitation and management of mined lands towards a sustainable post-mining land-use. 

FACILITIES
The Soils and Land Resources group has excellent facilities to conduct research into the chosen areas of specialisation, including well-equipped general and specialised laboratories, such as a spatial analysis laboratory, access to excellent glass-houses facilities and field equipment.  In addition, it has excellent world class analytical laboratories, which are accessible to both students and staff, as well as  providing service to other groups and individuals inside and outside the University. Other specialised facilities unique to the group: 

• An Erosion Processes Laboratory, fully equipped with a rainfall simulator and a tilting flume, and portable field rainfall simulators to study erosion processes.

• Well equipped modern analytical laboratories that provide a service to the group, as well as other institutions outside the school and University.