
Overview
Background
May 2002–ongoing: Senior Lecturer Land Resources Sciences, Principla Research Fellow, School of Land, Crop and Food Sciences; The University of Queensland, Australia
As lecturer of Land Resources Sciences at the University of Queensland, Dr Kirchhof has both led and collaborated on over half a dozen projects, and supervised numerous research staff and students. His research has focussed on:
- Soil–Water relationships;
- Conservation Agriculture and Irrigation scheduling
- Soil erosion
- Water and Nutrient Balances;
- Spatial Variability of Soil Properties from Ped to Landscape Scales;
- Dry-land Salinity Management;
- Water Recycling
- Computer Modelling of Water Flow with Special Reference to Variability and assessment of deep drainage
- Knowledge Management;
2011-15 Course leader: Australia Awards in Africa Dryland Farming/Soil and Water conservation Short Course Awards, UniQuest; Australia and Africa, Dr Kirchhof led the design and delivery of the AusAID-funded Dryland Farming Short Course Award, contracted to UniQuest/UQ-ID through GRM International, which was delivered twice a year in 2011 and 2014.
Countries of work experience: Indonesia, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Burkino Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Kenya, Tunisia, Australia.
Previous postions:
Oct 1997–May 2002: Senior Soil Scientist, Soil Conservation, NSW Agriculture; Australia
Mar 1996–Oct 1997: Soil Physicist, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture; Ibadan, Nigeria
Dec 1991–Mar 1996: Research Fellow, Department of Agriculture, The University of Queensland; Brisbane
Jan 1989–Dec 1991: Soil Scientist, CASSIRO Ltd, Wauchope, NSW
Availability
- Dr Gunnar Kirchhof is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Postgraduate Diploma in Education, The University of Queensland
Research interests
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Soil and Water Management
Water in the soil environment and landscapes: even though it is usually not considered a nutrient, it can in fact be seen as the most important nutrient. It drives productivity of our ago-ecosystems as well their sustainability. Water must be used efficiently, what can efficient water use achieve? What are the limits of this efficiency?
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Conservation Agriculture
Conservation Agriculture (CA) is considered the current best management practice for sustainable and productive ago-ecosystems. Is this correct? - May be not? We need to know more about practical suitability of CA in a range of environments, especially in Africa as wholesale promotion of CA can be detrimental to its adoption potential. The big questions are: is it a management method to satisfy world food demand? Can it be used to mitigate or manage climate change? What are its limitations?
Research impacts
Conservation Agriculture – achieving impact in Africa
http://www.australiaawardsafrica.org/news/conservation-agriculture-achieving-impact-in-africa/
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Gunnar Kirchhof is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Master Philosophy
Improving crop establishment with biogels in a variable and changing climate
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Joe Eyre, Dr Hima Haridevan
-
Doctor Philosophy
Impact of Soil Organic Carbon on Nitrogen and Water Dynamics under Rainfed and Irrigated Sweetpotato Production in Papua New Guinea Highlands
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Vilim Filipović
Completed supervision
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2018
Doctor Philosophy
Nitrogen and root zone temperature effects on sweetpotato cultivation on large mounds
Principal Advisor
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2014
Doctor Philosophy
Improving the capacity to represent surface runoff processes in rangeland biophysical models
Principal Advisor
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
An investigation into the chemical, physical and biological properties of manufactured soil produced from bauxite residue
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Ya-Feng Zhou, Dr Richard Haynes
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2016
Doctor Philosophy
The potential of Australian bermudagrasses (Cynodon spp.) for vegetating hostile soils
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Shu Fukai, Dr Christopher Lambrides
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2014
Doctor Philosophy
The water and salt balance of a land disposal system for highly saline industrial effluent
Associate Advisor
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2013
Doctor Philosophy
Sources, mobility and fate of salts in soils of the Queensland Murray-Darling Basin
Associate Advisor
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2010
Doctor Philosophy
Long-term productivity of Leucaena (Leucaena Leucocephala) - Grass pastures in Queensland
Associate Advisor
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2010
Doctor Philosophy
Subsoil constraints to root growth and water use efficiency in northern grain soils
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Adjunct Professor Ram Dalal AM
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2007
Doctor Philosophy
THE HYDROLOGY OF SEPTIC TANK - SOIL ABSORPTION SYSTEMS: INVESTIGATION AND PREDICTION OF HYDRAULIC FAILURE
Associate Advisor
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Gunnar Kirchhof directly for media enquiries about:
- Agro-ecosystems - tropical
- Conservation agriculture
- Papua New Guinea - farming
- Papua New Guinea - highland soil
- Soil - fertility decline
- Soil management
- Soil science
- Tropical and temperate regions - soil
- Urban water recycling
- Water management
- Water recycling
- Water utilities
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