Green Walls in Mediterranean climates: improved liveability and lower water and energy use; Funding: Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities
- University of Western Australia
- Australia
- PhD, Waikato University
Areas of interest
Methane emissions from soil, nitrogen leaching, nitrous oxide emissions from soil, soil biology, soil nitrogen cycling, soil water repellency, turfgrass irrigation management, turfgrass nutrient management, turfgrass watering requirement.
Biography
Assoc/Professor Louise Barton is a passionate soil scientist who has used her expertise to investigate sustainable solutions to turfgrass (lawn) management in a drying climate. She has co-led the UWA Turf Research Program since 2001, and teaches in the UWA School of Agriculture and Environment. Her other research interests include quantifying greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural soils and soil nitrogen cycling. Louise enjoys working alongside farmers, industry and policy makers to ensure best practises for land and water management are implemented.
Research Project
Polymers for Improving Soil Moisture Management & Cropping Productivity; Funding: CRC for Polymers
Effectively Utilising Water Allocations for Managing Turfgrass in Open Spaces; Funding: Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited
Key Publications/Reports
Barton, L., Flottmann, S. J., Stefanovia, K. T. & Colmer, T. D. 2020. Approaches to scheduling water allocations to kikuyugrass grown on a water repellent soil in a drying-climate. Agricultural Water Management, 230, 105957.
Wong, E. V. S., Ward, P. R., Murphy, D. V., Leopold, M. & Barton, L. 2020. Vacuum drying water-repellent sandy soil: Anoxic conditions retain original soil water repellency under variable soil drying temperature and air pressure, Geoderma, 372, 114385.
Colmer, T. & Barton, L. 2017. A Review of Warm-Season Turfgrass Evapotranspiration, Responses to Deficit Irrigation, and Drought Resistance. Crop Science, 57: S98‒S110.
Barton, L. & Colmer, T. 2011. Ameliorating water repellency under turfgrass of contrasting soil organic matter content: Effect of wetting agent formulation and application frequency. Agricultural Water Management, 99:1‒7.
Barton, L. & Colmer, T. 2011. Granular wetting agents ameliorate water repellency in turfgrass of contrasting soil organic matter content. Plant and Soil. 348:411‒424.