Dr Anthony Ringrose-Voase: researching quantitative land evaluation

Dr Anthony Ringrose-Voase researches quantitative land evaluation, in particular the interactions between farming systems and soil water balance at a landscape scale.

• 10 September 2009 | Updated 14 October 2011

• Current activities
• Background
• Academic qualifications
• Achievements
• Professional activities

Current activities

Dr Anthony Ringrose-Voase's primary research areas include the interactions between farming systems and soil water balance using measurement and modelling; the spatial prediction of soil properties at a landscape scale and the integration of these to allow quantitative land evaluation. He has a special interest in cracking clay soils and salinity.

Dr Anthony Ringrose-Voase leads the Soil and Landscape Science Research Group that investigates digital soil mapping, including rapid soil measurement; soil processes, especially water balance, in agricultural land and the integration of these to understand and predict the impacts of land use in different parts of the landscape on catchment health.

The group also investigates on-farm irrigation with the aim of improving water use efficiency of irrigated agriculture.

Research topics of special interest have included:

• deep drainage of irrigated cotton systems using lysimetry
• land evaluation and soil management of agricultural areas in Brunei Darussalam
• land evaluation for agricultural development for Northern Australia
• establishing coordinated national soil condition monitoring
• water balance of farming systems in the Liverpool Plains Catchment.

Background

Dr Ringrose-Voase has 25 years of research experience and has led several multi-institutional projects as well as currently leading the Soil and Landscape Science Research Group.

He brought a systematic understanding of 3D structural morphology into soil micromorphology using stereology to estimate 3D parameters from 2D sections. Dr Ringrose-Voase studied the micromorphology and structure of degraded rangeland soils in western NSW which led to improved understanding of their rehabilitation.

Dr Ringrose-Voase researches the structure and water balance of heavy clay soils used for rice. His work in the New South Wales (NSW) Riverina aimed to reduce drainage using non traditional cultivation techniques, while in South-East Asia, the research investigated soil management options to improve dry season cropping after rice.

Dr Ringrose-Voase led an innovative project that looked for ways of adjusting agricultural land values on the basis of soil quality.

Between 1995 and 2002 Dr Ringrose-Voase led research into alternative faming systems to reduce the risk of dryland salinity in the Liverpool Plains Catchment of northern NSW. This combined land resource assessment, field experimentation and farming systems modelling to show where in the landscape changes to land management practice could have the greatest impact on reducing risk, whilst also improving profitability.

He also led a land evaluation of Brunei Darussalam that integrated soil survey, land suitability and soil management recommendations to improve the productivity and profitability of farms in Brunei.

Academic qualifications

Dr Ringrose-Voase has been awarded a:

• Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Oxford in Agricultural and Forest Science in 1981
• Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Reading in soil science in 1984.

Achievements

Dr Ringrose-Voase is the author of 25 journal articles, 28 reports, 4 book chapters and 26 conference papers.

He was editor of the second edition of Guidelines for Surveying Soil and Land Resources and authored three of its chapters.

Dr Ringrose-Voase was the recipient of the Jubilee Medal of the British Society of Soil Science in 1984.

Professional activities

Dr Ringrose-Voase is a member of the:

• Australian Society of Soil Science
• British Society of Soil Science.

Find out more about CSIRO Land and Water.