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Soil & Land Systems

The Soil and Land Systems Discipline brings together a unique mix of expertise in the physics, chemistry, biology & hydrology of soils, and spatial information & analysis.  Our research sets out to better understand the management of resources in natural and agro-ecosystems, aimed at environmental and agricultural sustainability and soil health. Spatial information and analysis involves spatial & temporal landscape analysis with remote sensing, geographic information systems, and ecological modelling.  Contexts for our work range from natural to agro-ecosystems at scales from microscopic to regional and continental.

We offer majors in Soil Science and Spatial Information. Our courses are offered as core and elective courses in programs in Science, Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. An Honours year in Soil and Land Systems is available to graduates from these and other programs. We provide postgraduate research training (PhD and Masters by research) in soil science, soil-plant interactions and spatial information and analysis, with scholarships and opportunities for collaboration with external research partners.

The Discipline of Soil and Land Systems enjoys strong affiliations with several government and research agencies, facilitated by our co-location at the Waite campus at the foot of the Adelaide Hills. We benefit from such international affiliations as the Chinese Academy of Science, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), International Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Management (ICEWaRM) as well as numerous international institutions and universities.

Soil and Land Systems academics are active members of several Cooperative Research Centres such as Future Farm Industries CRC, CRC for Plant Based Management of Dryland Salinity, and Desert Knowledge CRC.

Graduates from our undergraduate and postgraduate programs are in demand in a wide range of areas including catchment management, extension and technology transfer, land use and rural property planning, natural resource survey and monitoring, land condition assessment, crop nutrition, environmental risk assessment and environmental planning and management.

Research Groups and Centres

Soil and Land Systems hosts the Centre for Soil Plant Interactions, and contributes to the Water Research Cluster within the University of Adelaide.

Soil & Land Systems Staff

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