OR

Browse By

Dr Gunnar Kirchhof

Principal Research Fellow

School of Agriculture and Food Sciences
Faculty of Science

Senior Lecturer

School of Agriculture and Food Sciences
Faculty of Science
g.kirchhof1@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 51364

Overview

May 2002–ongoing: Lecturer Land Resources Sciences, Senior 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

Research Interests

  • 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?
  • 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/

http://www.australiaawardsafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Conservation-Agriculture-Achieving-Impact-in-Africa.pdf

Qualifications

  • Graduate Certificate in Education, The University of Queensland
  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Graduate Dipl Agricultural Studies, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover

Publications

View all Publications

Grants

View all Grants

Supervision

View all Supervision

Publications

Book

Book Chapter

  • Puddling: effect on soil physical properties and crops

    Kirchhof, Gunnar, Tuong, T. P. and So, H. B. (2011). Puddling: effect on soil physical properties and crops. In Jan Gliński, Józef, Horabik and Jerzy Lipiec (Ed.), Encyclopedia of agrophysics (pp. 667-668) Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-90-481-3585-1_129

  • An analysis of village garden management in the Papua New Guinea highlands

    Wegener, M., Kirchhof, G. and Wilson, T. (2009). An analysis of village garden management in the Papua New Guinea highlands. In Gunnar Kirchhof (Ed.), Soil fertility in sweetpotato-based cropping systems in the highlands of Papua New Guinea (pp. 88-94) Canberra, ACT, Australia: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.

  • Biophysical constraints of sweetpotato-based cropping systems in the Papua New Guinea highlands

    Kirchhof, Gunnar, Taraken, Issac T., Ramakrishna, Akkinapally, Ratsch, Rainer and Igua, Passinghan (2009). Biophysical constraints of sweetpotato-based cropping systems in the Papua New Guinea highlands. In Gunnar Kirchhof (Ed.), Soil fertility in sweetpotato-based cropping systems in the highlands of Papua New Guinea (pp. 95-109) Canberra, A.C.T., Australia: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.

  • Changing tillage management practices and their impact on soil structural properties in north-western New South Wales, Australia

    Kirchhof, Gunnar and Daniells, Ian (2009). Changing tillage management practices and their impact on soil structural properties in north-western New South Wales, Australia. In Gunnar Kirchhof (Ed.), Soil fertility in sweetpotato-based cropping systems in the highlands of Papua New Guinea (pp. 60-69) Canberra, ACT, Australia: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.

  • Overview of soil conservation technologies and their perception by farmers in Nigeria

    Junge, B., Deji, O., Abaidoo, R., Chikoye, D. and Kirchhof, G. (2009). Overview of soil conservation technologies and their perception by farmers in Nigeria. In Gunnar Kirchhof (Ed.), Soil fertility in sweetpotato-based cropping systems in the highlands of Papua New Guinea (pp. 49-59) Canberra, ACT, Australia: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.

  • Soil management in the northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria

    Kirchhof, G., Odunze, A. C. and Salako, F. K. (2009). Soil management in the northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria. In Gunnar Kirchhof (Ed.), Soil fertility in sweetpotato-based cropping systems in the highlands of Papua New Guinea (pp. 43-48) Canberra, ACT, Australia: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.

  • Statistical methods for a soil fertility management survey analysis in Papua New Guinea

    Kravchuk, O., Wilson, T. and Kirchhof, G. (2009). Statistical methods for a soil fertility management survey analysis in Papua New Guinea. In Gunnar Kirchhof (Ed.), Soil fertility in sweetpotato-based cropping systems in the highlands of Papua New Guinea (pp. 79-87) Canberra, ACT, Australia: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.

  • Survey methodology to assess socioeconomic and biophysical constraints—lessons learnt in the highlands of Papua New Guinea

    Kirchhof, G., Taraken, I.T., Ratsch, R., Kapal, D. and Igua, P. (2009). Survey methodology to assess socioeconomic and biophysical constraints—lessons learnt in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. In Gunnar Kirchhof (Ed.), Soil fertility in sweetpotato-based cropping systems in the highlands of Papua New Guinea (pp. 70-78) Canberra, ACT, Australia: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.

  • Plastic properties

    Kirchhof, Gunnar (2007). Plastic properties. In Rattan Lal (Ed.), Encyclopedia of soil science 2nd ed. () New York, United States: Taylor & Francis. doi:10.1081/E-ESS-120001587

Journal Article

Conference Publication

  • Digestibility of starch and potassium in sweetpotato from Papua New Guinea

    Liu, Y., Sabboh, H., Kirchhof, G. and Sopade, P. A. (2009). Digestibility of starch and potassium in sweetpotato from Papua New Guinea. In: Proceedings. 15th Triennial Symposium of the International Society for Tropical Root Crops. 15th Triennial Symposium of the International Society for Tropical Root Crops, Lima, Peru, (). 2-6 November 2009.

  • Soil fertility assessment of soils in the highlands of Papua New Guinea

    Kirchhof, G. and Ramakrishna A. (2008). Soil fertility assessment of soils in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. In: Proceedings. Soils2008 Conference – Soil, the living skin of planet Earth. Soils2008 Conference – Soil, the living skin of planet Earth, Palmerston North, New Zealand, (17-17). 1-5 December 2008.

  • Impact of saturated hydraulic conductivity and rainfall on variability of predicted drainage

    Bah, Abdul R., Kravchuk, Olena and Kirchhof, Gunnar (2006). Impact of saturated hydraulic conductivity and rainfall on variability of predicted drainage. In: Abstracts and Programme. Soil Science Solving Problems, National Soils Conference. ASSSI – ASPAC – ACMS National Soils Conference - Soil Science Solving Problems, Adelaide, Australia, (52-52). 3-7 December 2006.

  • Naiad: Sharing lessons learned from innovative urban water schemes

    Loetscher, T., Gray, S., Kirchhof, G. and Dart, P. (2005). Naiad: Sharing lessons learned from innovative urban water schemes. In: Proceedings. Ozwater watershed [electronic resource] : the turning point for water : Ozwater Convention and Exhibition. Ozwater Conference 2005, Brisbane, (1-8). 8-12 May 2005.

  • Nitrogen cycling and grass sustainability in leucana-grass pastures - a research proposal

    Radrizzani, A., Shelton, H. M., Kirchof, G. and Dalzell, S. A. (2005). Nitrogen cycling and grass sustainability in leucana-grass pastures - a research proposal. In: Australian Society of Animal Production, Central Queensland Sub-Branch Mini-conference, Rockhampton, Qld Australia, (24-25). 5-6 July, 2005.

  • Soil management practices in northern New South Wales

    Kirchhof, G. and Daniells, I. (2003). Soil management practices in northern New South Wales. In: J. Tullberg, Proceedings of ISTRO 16: Soil Management for Sustainability. International Soil Tillage Research Organisation 16th Triennial Conference, The University of Queensland, (626-631). 13-18 July, 2003.

  • Structural regeneration of puddled soil

    Bakti, L.A.A., So, B. H. B., Kirchhof, G. and Yatapanage, K. G. (2003). Structural regeneration of puddled soil. In: J. Tullberg, Proceedings of ISTRO 16: Soil Management for Sustainability. International Soil Tillage Research Organisation 16th Triennial Conference, The University of Queensland, (59-63). 13-18 July, 2003.

  • The impact of long-term crop rotations and residue management on physical properties of a northern NSW Black earth (Vertosol)

    Danesh, M., Daniel, H. and Kirchhof, G. (2002). The impact of long-term crop rotations and residue management on physical properties of a northern NSW Black earth (Vertosol). In: D. Williamson, C. Tang and A. Rate, Future Soils Conference Proceedings - Managing Soil Resources to Ensure Access to Markets for Future Generations. Australian Society of Soil Science National Conference, Perth, Western Australia, (50-51). 2-6 December, 2002.

  • Variability of deep drainage: paddock leakiness hot spots

    Kirchhof, G., Johnson, I. and Daniel, H. (2002). Variability of deep drainage: paddock leakiness hot spots. In: D. Williamson, C. Tang and A. Rate, Future Soils Conference Proceedings - Managing Soil Resources to Ensure Access to Markets for Future Generations. Australian Society of Soil Science National Conference, Perth, Western Australia, (88-89). 2-6 December, 2002.

  • Low input tillage/cropping systems for limited resource areas

    So, H. B., Kirchhof, G., Bakker, R. and Smith, G. D. (2001). Low input tillage/cropping systems for limited resource areas. In: Soil And Tillage Research. 15th Conference of the International Soil Tillage Research Organization, Texas, United States of America, (109-123). 02-07 July 2000 JUL 02-07, 2000. doi:10.1016/S0167-1987(01)00182-9

Edited Outputs

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Completed Supervision

This staff member is a UQ Expert for media in the following fields:

Soil science, Soil management, Papua New Guinea - highland soil, Urban water recycling, Agro-ecosystems - tropical, Tropical and temperate regions - soil, Water recycling, Papua New Guinea - farming, Water utilities, Soil - fertility decline, Water management, Conservation agriculture

They are happy to lend their expertise to your articles or broadcasts and share their research discoveries and insights with the community via media channels.

For additional assistance with story ideas, general advice and information or help with seeking further experts, please email the UQ Media Team or telephone (07) 3365 1120.

Links

ResearcherID: C-8016-2009

ORCID: 0000-0002-9480-6579

Personal Profile: Link

Unit Links
Other Media
Social Media

Related Resources

Similar Staff
Researchers in Associated Units
Fields of Research