Friday 25th November,
2005 at 9.30am
Mapping and Monitoring
Vegetation using Remote Sensing – Experiences
so far
Dr
Catherine Ticehurst, CSIRO
Land and Water, Canberra.
Seminar Sumary
Remote sensing has long been identified as a useful
tool for mapping and monitoring the environment
at local to regional scales over time frames ranging
from daily to decadal, particularly for understanding
the spatial and temporal variation within the landscape.
Remote sensing instruments operating in the optical
and radar wavelengths provide different, yet complementary
information. For vegetation, optical remote sensing
provides information related to vegetation colour
and chemistry while radar is related to structure
and moisture content. This presentation first provides
some of the basic principles of remote sensing,
as well as the characteristics and limitations
of the more common remote sensing instruments,
before presenting some of the projects that have
used remote sensing technologies to map vegetation
cover and monitor vegetation change over time.
In particular, applications will include: regional
scale land cover mapping of the Wet Tropics of
Far North Queensland using combined radar and optical
remote sensing imagery; examining the relationships
between tree size and topography by combining high-resolution
optical and LIDAR data; and measuring vegetation
growth and senescence using low-resolution multi-temporal
imagery.
About the Speaker
Catherine
Ticehurst has been part of
the remote sensing team at CSIRO
Land and Water since 1998 (now
in the Environmental
Sensing and Prediction theme).
Her work has involved developing
relationships between vegetation
cover, structure and health and
remote sensing data (Synthetic
Aperture Radar, hyperspectral and
multi-spectral airborne and spaceborne
sensors).
This includes the delineation
and classification of eucalypt,
rainforest and mangrove tree crowns
using high-resolution imagery,
and regional scale land cover mapping
and change detection in the Wet
Tropics using SAR and optical imagery.
More at: http://www.clw.csiro.au/staff/TicehurstC/
Friday
18 November, 2005 at 3.30 pm
Lord Howe Island: isolation,
endemism, extinction and invasion
Dr Tony Grice, CSIRO Sustainable
Ecosystems, Rangelands and Savannas
Seminar Sumary
The isolation of Lord Howe Island and processes of
colonisation, evolution and extinction have combined
to produce its very distinctive flora. More recent
changes have resulted from plant invasions derived
from human activities. This presentation will briefly
discuss the issue of invasive plants for the flora
of Lord Howe and one project addressing the issue.
Friday 11th November, 2005 at
11.00am
Patch Preference in a hierarchical
Landscape: Foraging decisions of
collared lemmings
Dr Kate Searle, Rangelands & Savannas,
CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
Seminar Summary
Understanding the
responses of foragers to patchy
distributions of resources has
formed a fundamental challenge
in behavioral ecology. Two currencies
have been used to assess the patch
preferences of herbivores—intake
rate maximization and risk sensitivity.
We wished to understand if small
mammalian foragers, collared lemmings
(Dichrostonyx groenlandicus), choose
patches to maximize food intake
rate or to reduce risk of starvation
in variable environments. Moreover,
we examined the possibility that
maximising intake rate depended
on the spatial scale of patchiness.
We designed an experiment offering
two alternative patches of food,
varying the predictability of food
rewards and the potential intake
rate at two different spatial scales.
Collared lemmings did not consistently
select patches that maximized their
intake rate at either scale studied.
Instead, they chose patches offering
the least variation in food reward
over the course of the experiment.
Collared lemmings used prior knowledge
gained from previous foraging bouts
to assess food variability. We
interpret these results as evidence
for risk-averse foraging strategies,
which are predicted for continuous
foragers aiming to minimize risk
of starvation.
Friday 21 October
- 11.00 am
Responses to Resource
Variation in Australian Rangelands:
Agistment Networks
Dr Ryan McAllister - CSIRO Sustainable
Ecosystems
Seminar summary
In this
seminar he will discuss one aspect of this work,
how pastoralists respond to resource variation
by using agistment networks to distribute grazing
pressure. Empirical findings and a theoretical
model will be presented which consider how the
landscape shapes agistment networks, and what
hope might policy makers have in
improving agistment outcomes by
working with the grain of local
informal institutions.
About the Speaker
Ryan is nearing the end of a three-year post-doctoral
fellowship with CSIRO Rangelands and Savannas.
He has been applying complex systems science methods
to problems faced by Australian rangeland systems,
and generally challenging the real worth of these
new approaches in the context of pressure on science
to have greater impact in our society.
Friday 14 October
- 11.45am
Milk fatty acid composition
as affected by feed of dairy
cows - heathier products from
fresh forages?
Dr Anjo Elgersma, Wageningen University,
The Netherlands,
Seminar Summary
While milk protein is mainly affected
by animal genetics, milk fat
and the composition of fatty
acids (FA) are largely determined
by diet. Animal fat has a bad
image in Europe because of the
high amount of saturated FA,
widely considered detrimental
with respect to heart and coronary
diseases. (Poly)Unsaturated fatty
acids (PUFA) are more desirable,
and Conjugated Linoleic Acid
(CLA), especially the C18:2 cis9,
trans11 isomer 'rumenic acid'
, is also associated with other
health benefits. Cows on a forage
diet have much higher concentrations
of PUFA and CLA in their milk
than on silage plus concentrates.
This is a.o. related to the nature
and concentration of PUFA (mainly
C18:3) in leaf tissue. Plant
lipids are used as substrate
for rumen mico-organisms that
produce FA like CLA, found in
milk and meat of ruminants. Experimental
results will be presented. The
health effects of food can thus
be improved by feed and forage,
which is important for the industry
and for consumers.
A BBC interview on this topic
is broadcast this week, see: www.researchfile.nl
About the Speaker
Anjo studied Plant Breeding, Grassland
Science and Genetics at Wageningen
University, The Netherlands and
graduated in 1985 (MSc). She
obtained a PhD at Wageningen
University in 1990 on Genetic,
physiological and cytological
aspects of seed production in
perennial ryegrass, carried out
at a plant breeding research
institute. In 1991, she was appointed
at Wageningen University and
holds a position as associate
professor of grassland science
since 1994, based at the Crop
and Weed Ecology group. From
1 Oct 2004 - 1 Oct 2005 she was
invited for a postion as temporary
part-time guest professor at
the University of Ghent, Belgium.
Anjo supervises PhD and MSc students,
a.o. Antoon Jacobs, who at present
conducts a thesis research at
CSIRO Townsville, guided by Marcelo
Benvenutti and Iain Gordon.
Contact information
Dr Ir Anjo Elgersma
Associate Professor in Grassland
Science Crop and Weed Ecology Group
Plant Sciences Haarweg 333 6700
RZ Wageningen the Netherlands
Friday 14 October - 11.00 am
Why paying more for petrol?
- Energy markets in a nutshell
Alex Smajgl - CSIRO Sustainable
Ecosystems
Seminar Abstract
Increasing petrol prices have shown
that changes on energy markets
can have a significant impact
on our lifes. Over the last 12
months the petrol price increased
by about 20%, which makes a big
difference in households budget
decisions. This seminar gives
a short overview on the supply
side and the demand side of markets
for fossil fuels. The structure
will be focused on crude oil
and just partly talk about natural
gas and coal. It will explain
the wider context of energy markets
and shows linkages to strategies
like greenhouse gas abatement
and potential policy instruments.
The future direction of petrol
prices will be discussed according
to economic theory and empirical
observations.
About the Speaker
Alex did his MBA (Masters of Business Administration)
at the University of Cooperative Education in Stuttgart,
Germany. After that he continued on to complete:
A bachelor in Cultural Science
and History of Art
And a masters and honours in Economics.
Followed by a PhD in Environmental Economics
Alex's PhD was on the assessment of strategies of
the EU in Post-Kyoto negotiations. During his PhD
and for some time afterwards he worked for a consultancy
specialised in Energy Economics and developed different
socio-economic tools for Climate Change negotiations
and advised different German Departments and the
European Commission. In 2003 Alex joined CSE in Townsville
and started focussing on water.
Friday 7 October
- 1.30 pm
Understanding Community
Adaptation to Change
Dr Gail Kelly - Resource Futures
Program, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
Seminar Summary
How do communities adapt to change?
What characteristics mediate
the outcomes for communities
in the case of a change event
(perturbation)? What is the
relationship between those
characteristics and response
strategies to moderate the
impact? Questions such as these
help to provide an understanding
of the factors that determine
the capacity of communities
to reactively or proactively
adapt to change in the ecological
systems upon which they depend.
This presentation briefly describes
the outcomes of a longitudinal
study seeking to understand the
community-level change process
in communities affected by changes
within the forest industry. Relevant
theory from the field of psychology
will be discussed, a conceptual
model of community change presented,
and linkages to the social dimensions
of resilience highlighted.
About the Speaker
Dr Gail Kelly is a member of the Resource
Futures program which is focused on improving
the prosperity and quality of life in Australian
communities.
Friday 30 September - 11.00
am
Post-glacial sea level
rise, estuarine evolution and
floodplain aggradation in southeastern
Australia
Paul Rustomji, Research Scientist,
CSIRO Land and Water, Canberra
Seminar Summary
Rivers along Australia's eastern
continental margin follow relatively
short and steep paths to the
coast. Existing models of alluvial
aggradation along these rivers,
particularly for their upper
reaches, invoke either random
climate variability or long
term climate change as the
main mechanism driving cycles
of river incision and aggradation.
However, one of the major environmental
changes of the last 120,000
years has been a 120 metre
variation in global sea level,
yet the significance of this
upon floodplain aggradation
patterns within coastal valleys
of NSW remains to be clearly
defined.
This seminar will show a distinct
epoch of alluvial aggradation
extending many tens of kilometres
inland occurred over the last
10,000 years along two NSW coastal
valleys (the Macdonald and Tuross
valleys). This pattern of aggradation
was consistent with models of
estuarine evolution for the wave
dominated estuaries to which
these rivers flow, driven in
turn by the rise in post-glacial
sea level. This indicates that
sea level change, rather than
any climate influences have been
the primary control upon alluvial
aggradation patterns along the
lower reaches of many east Australian
rivers over the Holocene.
About the Speaker
Paul Rustomji is a Post Doctoral Scientist
with CSIRO Land & Water’s River
and Coasts. He completed his PhD in 2003,
Research School of Earth Sciences, ANU.
He has worked over a number
of years on river sediment and
nutrient budgets for CSIRO Land & Water.
Friday 23 September - 11.00
am
Mixing bats, stats and
GIS
Alexander
Herr, Spatial and Statistical
Analyst, Resource Futures, CSIRO
Sustainable Ecosystems
Seminar Summary
This presentation will
briefly introduce Australian
bats and than focus on autecology
of Microbats, their habitats,
communities and techniques for
studying bats. It will also show
a way of integrating this ecological
information through a GIS to
inform management on a broader
scale.
About the Speaker
Dr Alexander Herr is a spatial and statistical
analyst with the Resources Futures Group
(CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Townsville).
His work integrates socio-economic and
biophysical conditions to guide ecologically
sustainable natural resource management
in northern Australia. Alexander holds
a Masters equivalent degree in Biological
Sciences from the Albert-Ludwigs University
of Freiburg, Germany. His PhD from Charles
Sturt University (CSU), Australia focussed
on microbat ecology and conservation. Alexander
has extensive experience in applied ecology,
GIS and statistical modelling through work
at the Institut für Landespflege,
Germany, the Johnstone Centre (CSU), his
postdoctoral research into environmental
flows (Environmental Studies Unit, CSU)
and employment as senior environmental
scientist in the commercial environment.
Alexander has lectured and supervised students
in general ecology, hydrology and environmental
flows, applied statistics and GIS. His
main interest combines wildlife conservation,
sustainable natural resource management
and ecological sustainable development.
Friday 13th September - 11.00
am
Companion Modelling
for integrated water management
issues
Olivier
Barreteau - a French scientist
working on Companion Modelling
Seminar Summary
Companion Modelling is an iterative modelling
approach that involves stakeholders into
the modelling process itself. It aims at
formalising assumptions about a complex
and shared system within a model, so that
they can be discussed. This approach has
been designed for renewable resources management
issues. It is used for research as well
as decision support purposes: The model
can reflect either the assumptions of the
researchers or those of the stakeholders.
In the first case, the model validates
and improves knowledge of the scientist,
from the stakeholders’ point of view.
In the second case, it captures diversity
of viewpoints among stakeholders and creates
a mediation tool for dialogue progress.
In all these experiments the model is not
a result, but a mean of reaching better
understanding of a system or collective
decisions with a good level of commitment
from stakeholders.
The summary of the approach
is downloadable on from: http://cormas.cirad.fr/ComMod/en/index.htm.
[external site]
Examples of application of
this approach, using mainly
Agent Based Modelling and Role
Playing Games as the relevant
tools, exist in various contexts:
irrigated systems in Senegal
River Valley; gene resources
in Madagascar; forest and cattle
management in South of France;
river basin in South of France;
change of farming industry
in Thailand.
This presentation will start
with presenting the approach
as a whole; and then will move
to the presentation of the
Drome River basin management
case study, where the approach
has been used to organise community
water sharing agreement.
Friday 9th September - 11.00
am
How Sweet are sugar
Mill Profits?
Andrew Zull - PhD student with
CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
division, Rangelands & Savannas
group will present a seminar
based on his honours thesis
Seminar Summary
Sugar mill profits estimation based on empirical
studies in respect to raw sugar prices,
sugarcane supply, and the operational point
of cessation. The sugar industry has a
colourful and interesting history with
many idiosyncrasies and reticent tendencies,
often making it difficult for outsiders
to comprehend its workings. Australian
sugar mills are both price and quantity
takers; that is they must sell all their
raw sugar for a given price to Queensland
Sugar Limited (QSL) and their production
is restricted to the sugarcane supplied
to them by local growers. Under conventional
economic theory, a price-taking or quantity-taking
firm will adjust their production level
or their commodity prices (respectively)
in order to maximise profits; resulting
in firms have unique breakeven and shutdown
points. However, as Australian sugar mills
are both price and quantity takers, a theoretical
profit model was developed replacing the
mill’s breakeven and shutdown points
with Exit and Shutdown Zones. It is postulated
that for a given raw sugar price and supply
of sugarcane, a mill being in either a
Profit, Exit, of Shutdown Zone; therefore,
the only production choice the sugar mill
can make in the short-run is to remain
operational or cease production. By using
Duality-theory, a firm’s total output
(production function) can be estimated
on the basis of its inputs(Nerlove, 1963).
Consequently, the mill’s total output
including by-products can be estimated
based on the amount of sugarcane processed.
Using publicly available information an
Australian Sugar Mill’s short-run
cost and revenue function was estimated
dependent on the price of raw sugar and
the quantity of sugarcane process.
Thursday 25th August - 11.00
am
Communicating Catchment
Connectivity: Joining the dots
between species, habitats,
processes & audiences
Russell Kelley - Writer, project
manager, science communication
consultant
Seminar Summary
The notion of interdependent connectedness
among species and the habitats that host
them is not new, yet this "self evident
truth" has been slow to permeate the
wider community. This seminar traces the
design and real world history of the Blue
Highway suite of communication tools in
raising public awareness of "connectivity".
The review brings news from the frontline
of Integrated Communication Planning and
looks at the role science can play in communicating
catchment issues.
Friday 5 August - 11.00am
Confronting the coral
reef crisis
Terry Hughes, Director of ARC Centre
of Excellence in Innovative Science for Management
of Coral Reef Biodiversity
Seminar Summary
Confronting large-scale degradation of coral
reefs requires a major scaling-up of management
efforts based on an improved understanding
of ecological processes that underlie reef
resilience. Managing for improved resilience,
incorporating the role of human activity
in shaping ecosystems, provides a basis
for coping with uncertainty, future changes
and ecological surprises. Here I review
the ecological roles of critical functional
groups (for both corals and reef fishes)
that are fundamental to understanding resilience
and avoiding phase-shifts from coral dominance
to less desirable, degraded ecosystems.
Striking biogeographic differences in the
species richness and composition of functional
groups highlight the vulnerability of Caribbean
reef ecosystems. These findings have profound
implications for restoration of degraded
reefs, management of fisheries, and the
focus on marine protected areas and biodiversity
hotspots as priorities for conservation.
The talk will conclude with a brief overview
of the new ARC Centre of Excellence at
JCU, and prospects for collaboration with
groups at CSIRO and elsewhere.
About the Speaker
Professor Hughes is the Director of ARC Centre
of Excellence in Innovative Science for
Management of Coral Reef Biodiversity,
awarded in June 2005 to James Cook University.
Hughes is a Fellow of the Australian Academy
of Sciences and an ARC Federation Fellow
(2002-2007). He also holds a Personal Chair
in the School of Marine Biology & Aquaculture
at JCU. He has broad research interests
in ecology, social-ecological resilience
and the dynamics of coral reefs. He received
his doctorate in 1984 from Johns Hopkins
University in Baltimore, USA for work on
coral ecology in Jamaica, West Indies.
From 1984-1990 he was a Postdoctoral and
Research Fellow at the University of California,
Santa Barbara. In 1990, Terry was recruited
by JCU to develop and lead a program in
coral reef ecology. He has published over
60 influential scientific papers on the
biology of coral reefs, including a dozen
papers in Science and Nature.
Friday 29 July - 12 noon
The Ecboloplast's Art:
Biogeochemical Modelling of
Australian Estuaries
Barbara
Robson - CSIRO Land and
Water Canberra
Seminar Summary
In this seminar, Barbara will discuss how
biogeochemical modelling has been applied
to a number of Australian estuarine ecosystems,
from the wind-driven, Mediterranean-climate
Swan River estuary to the macrotidal, tropical
Ord and Fitzroy Rivers. These systems contrast
greatly in the forces driving them and
biogeochemical modelling, combined with
field process studies, has helped draw
a better picture of the way these systems
function and the differences between them.
While salinity, temperature and flow control
the dynamics of phytoplankton in the Swan
River estuary, light, tides and sediment
dynamics are of primary importance in the
Ord River estuary. Modelling also provides
a tool to facilitate management, allowing
us to quantitatively predict the effects
of different flow and nutrient load scenarios.
This talk will also discuss the application
of biogeochemical models to management
scenarios.
Thursday 28 July - 11.30 am
Resilience management
for the Great Barrier Reef:
towards sustainable runoff
impacts
Leo Dutra,
Graduate Researcher at the Centre
for Ecological Economics and
Water Policy Research (CEEWPR)
at University of New England,
Armidale, NSW
Seminar Summary
The social-ecological system, encompassing
coral reefs of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR)
and its catchments, has well established
connections. Impacts produced inland due
to agricultural practices increase pollutants
contained in runoff affecting the resilience
of the whole system, including riparian
forests, mangroves, groundwater, and communities
dependent upon these ecosystems. This seminar
will discuss how to collaboratively build
a rich systems dynamics picture of the
reef as a social, economic, and ecological
system incorporating its surrounding agricultural
lands in the GBR catchment. A holistic
systems picture will enable the various
actors to learn about the dynamics and
interrelationships, and model the impacts
of various agricultural practices across
the whole reef system. This shared understanding
will enable the partnering stakeholders
to consider how new practices can deliver
win-win outcomes that add to the resilience
of the reef system.
This methodology seeks to build stakeholder
partnerships between local agricultural practitioners,
reef researchers and reef managers as an
adaptive, learning governance network structure.
A second stage of the project will be to
develop a holistic runoff management decision
support methodology for the GBR management.
This would explicitly connect environmental,
community and economic issues in order to
implement whole system sustainability. This
methodology will enable a systematic procedure
for developing and synergizing knowledge
and understanding about system cause and
effect relationships. The research output
will be a simulator or ‘learning laboratory’ to
explore, develop and test-bed policy options
that takes into account a very broad range
of implications and impacts.
Friday 25 July - 1.30 pm
Sediment deposition:
Recent gains in the understanding
of the movement of water-borne
sediment from the point of
erosion to the site of deposition
Peter
Hairsine, Stream
Leader, Water Quality and
Environmental flows - from
CSIRO Land and Water, Canberra
Seminar Summary
In this seminar Peter will give an overview
of the sediment delivery problem in which
only a very small portion of sediment eroded
by water is delivered to the sea. The situations
and processes that lead to sediment deposition
are described. The audience will be then
introduced to a method of conceptualising
the sediment size sorting that occurs during
sediment deposition. This development is
useful as it enables predictions of the
rate of sediment deposition for a range
of sediment types and the fate of sediment-sorbed
pollutants.
Thursday 21 July - 3.30pm
Social dimension that
enables adaptive ecosystem-based
management
Per Olsson
Seminar Summary
In this seminar Per
will talk about the work done
on the social dimension that
enables adaptive ecosystem-based
management. His work concentrates
on experiences of adaptive governance
of social-ecological systems
during periods of abrupt change
(crisis) and investigates social
sources of renewal and reorganisation.
Such governance connects individuals,
organizations, agencies, and
institutions at multiple organisational
levels. Key persons provide leadership,
trust, vision, meaning, and help
transform management organisations
towards a learning environment.
Adaptive governance systems often
self-organise as social networks
with teams and actor groups that
draw on various knowledge systems
and experiences for the development
of a common understanding and
policies. Emerging ‘bridging
organisations’ seem to
lower the costs of collaboration
and conflict resolution. Enabling
legislation and governmental
policies can support self-organisation
while framing creativity for
adaptive co-management efforts.
A resilient social-ecological
system may make use of crises
as opportunities to transform
into more desired states
About the Speaker
Per is employed
(40 percent) at the Center
for Transdisciplinary Environmental
Research, Stockholm University,
as a research project leader,
currently involved in research
on social-ecological dynamics
and resilience in Kristianstad
as part of the Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment and Resilience Alliance.
He is also employed (60 percent) at Hållbarhetsrådet
[Sustainability Council] as the coordinator
for UNESCO’s program Man and the Biosphere,
facilitating and coordinating initiatives
for sustainable regional development in Sweden.
Per has a Doctor of Philosophy in Natural
Resources Management, Licentiate Degree in
Natural Resources Management and M.Sc. in
Biology, all from Stockholm University.
Friday 15 July - 11am
Residence time and chemistry
of soil organic matter – and
why we should care about it
Evelyn
Krull - CSIRO Land and Water,
Adelaide
Seminar Summary
This seminar presents an overview of the
organic matter work done at CSIRO Land and
Water in Adelaide. Several projects will
be presented that range from charcoal in
soil organic matter to vegetation thickening
to ecohydrological changes in the soil system.
Friday 8 July - 1.30 pm
Bioeconomic analysis
of weed search and control
Oscar
Cacho, Associate Professor,
School of Economics, University
of New England
Seminar Summary
When a weed invasion is discovered, a decision
has to be made as to whether to attempt
to eradicate it, contain it or do nothing.
Ideally, these decisions should be based
on a complete benefit-cost analysis, but
this is often not possible. Partial analysis,
combining knowledge of the demographics
of the weed and economic techniques, can
assist in making the best decision. I will
present a general conceptual model to decide
when eradication of a weed should be attempted.
Decision rules are derived based on a few
parameters that represent the rate of spread,
the cost of controlling the invasion, and
the cost of damage caused by the invasion.
These decision rules are then used to identify
the 'switching point' - the invasion size
at which it is no longer optimum to attempt
eradication. The decision rules are used
to estimate the optimum duration of the
eradication effort depending on the current
size of the invasion. Sensitivity analysis
is undertaken and the possibility of characterizing
an invasion based on 5 parameters is discussed.
Monday 16 May 2005 - 11 am
Getting irrigation together
Dr
Wayne Meyer, Chief Scientist,
CRC for Irrigation Futures
Seminar Summary
A recent study commissioned by Water for
a Healthy Country and delivered by the
CRC for Irrigation Futures has brought
together a lot of previously scattered
information about the Irrigation Industry
in the Murray and Murrumbidgee Basins.
What this tells us is that these regions
have half the irrigated area of Australia,
they apply nearly 7,000 GL of water and produce
an annual farm gate revenue of $3.1 billion.
They use infrastructure delivery and application
systems with a replacement value of about
$10 billion. When compared to adjacent rainfed
districts, the irrigated areas support a
culturally diverse population and a set of
businesses that is four times greater. The
primary production then stimulates a total
value adding that is 3.5 times the farm gate
revenue. All of this activity has a considerable
impact on the surface water, ground water,
soil and vegetation resources and the activity
associated with Land and Water Management
Plans is only partly addressing the issues
of achieving a more socially acceptable balance
of productive use and resource maintenance.
The insights that this study has developed
can be used to guide research and development
needs in other irrigated regions.
These will be discussed in the context of
the developing second stage research investment
plan of the CRC for Irrigation Futures.
11am, Friday 18 March 2005
Electromagnetic methods
for measurement of soil water
content
Dr Clarke Topp, a Soil
Scientist retired from the soil
management team of the Soil,
Water, Air & Production Program
in Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada
Seminar Summary
Over the last two decades
the measurement of soil water
content has changed in revolutionary
proportions as a result of major
advances in the application of
electromagnetic (EM) methods
to soil measurement. Improved
understanding of microwave interaction
in soil was a key factor in enabling
the development of instrumentation
but also equally important was
the development of digital data
handling capabilities that have
allowed the collection and analysis
of radio frequency data above
10 MHz. Although EM instruments
use a wide variety of sensors
the parameters of interest from
soil measurement are dielectric
permittivity and electrical conductivity.
Using an electromagnetic wave
equation framework, Dr. Topp
will discuss the basis for measurement
of water content and electrical
conductivity using a variety
of instruments. The five techniques
now used in soil applications
are time domain reflectometery
(TDR), ground penetrating radar
(GPR), capacitance/ impedance
instruments, remote active radar
and passive microwave radar.
About the speaker
Dr. Topp is a soil scientist retired from
a soil management team in Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada, where his research activity
included
- Developing improved techniques
for determining soil physical
conditions and structural quality
of soil.
- Assessment of management
effects on soil structure and
physical conditions.
- Methods to determine the
aeration status and oxygen
supply to roots and soil microbes.
- Improving methods for measurement
of soil water content, soil
conductivity, soil strength/compaction
and extent of root development
in soil.
He has published over 100 research
papers in peer reviewed journals
and conference proceedings, 42
on TDR research.
11am, Friday 25 February 2004
The use of geophysical
methods to improve understanding
of the Burdekin Delta aquifers
Ken Lawrie, from the
Co-operative Research Centre
for Landscape Environments & Mineral
Exploration (CRC LEME) |
