Adjunct Professor
Agricultural systems design and management to improve productivity whilst reducing environmental impact
Phone: (02) 4570 1376
Fax: + 61 (0)2 6125 0746
E-mail: p.cornish@uws.edu.au

Peter Cornish graduated in Agricultural Science (Honours) from the University of Sydney in 1968 and worked for CSIRO and NSW Agriculture for 25 years as a pasture ecologist then crop agronomist, with a break for his PhD at UNE (1976-9). In 1993 he joined UWS as the Foundation Professor of Agriculture (Farming Systems), a Chair endowed by the Vincent Fairfax Family Trust. His main interests have been in soil/plant water and phosphorus relations, in a broad farming systems context. This led him into the development of soil-conserving tillage systems in the 1980's, and subsequently into the integrated management of farms within catchments for improved environmental outcomes. He has been a member of several research advisory committees including the Wheat Research Council of Australia, Grains Research & Development Corporation, and Rural Industries R& D Corporation. In 2003 he was the joint recipient with GRDC of the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Sector Administration, for a successful GRDC-funded national programme of farming systems research. At UWS, Peter leads a research group of 2 Postdoctoral Fellows and several PhD students and technical support, all funded by external sources. He is also a member of the CRC-Irrigation Futures.

Research, Teaching & Professional Activities

Main present research interests are in: (i) quantifying diffuse pollutant exports from major rural land uses, understanding the relevant processes, and developing management options for farmers; and (ii) developing less unsustainable farming systems for the rich farming areas of northwestern NSW, with a focus on understanding and managing subsoil constraints (apparently due to subsoil salinity) and optimising crop management strategies. He has supervised 14 research students (most PhD) and assisted with numerous others.

Selected Publications

Popov, VH, Cornish, PS and Sun, H 2006.. Vegetated biofilters: the relative importance of infiltration and adsorption in reducing loads of water-soluble herbicides in agricultural runoff. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment (In press)

Wangiyana, W, Cornish, PS and Morris, CA 2006.. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (Amf) Dynamics In Contrasting Cropping Systems On Vertisol And

Regosol Soils of Lombok, Indonesia. Experimental Agriculture 42(4), October 2006. (In press)

Popov, VH and Cornish, PS 2006.. Atrazine tolerance of grass species with potential for use in vegetated filters in Australia. Plant and Soil 280: 115-126.

Sun, H and Cornish PS 2006.. A catchment-based approach to recharge estimation in the Liverpool Plains, NSW Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 57: 309-320.

Pedroli, Bas; Pinto Correia, Teresa and Cornish, Peter 2006.. Landscape – what's in it? Trends in European landscape science and priority themes for concerted research. Landscape Ecology (Special Issue) 21 (3): 421–430.

Madafiglio, G. P., Medd, R. W., Cornish, P. S. and van den Ven, R. 2006. Regulating seed production and yield loss of Raphanus raphanistrum with herbicides in wheat. Weed Research 45 (6) 50-60.

Sun, H and Cornish, P S 2005.. Estimating shallow groundwater recharge in the headwaters of the Liverpool plains using SWAT. Hydrological Processes 19: 795-807.

Cornish, PS and Burgin, S 2005... Residual Effects of Glyphosate Herbicide in Ecological Restoration. J Restoration Ecology 13 (4): 694-701.

Popov, VH, Cornish, PS, Sultana K and Morris EC 2005.. Atrazine degradation in soils: the role of microbial communities, atrazine application history and soil carbon. Aust J Soil Res 43 (7): 861–871.

Johnston WH and Cornish PS 2005... Eragrostis curvula (Schrad.) Nees. complex pastures in southern New South Wales, Australia: impact of Eragrostis curvula, Medicago sativa and Phalaris aquatica L. pastures on soil water. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 45: 1267-1289.

Johnston WH, Cornish PS, Koen TB and Shoemark, VF2005... Eragrostis curvula (Schrad.) Nees. complex pastures in southern New South Wales, Australia: a comparison of Eragrostis curvula cv Consol and Medicago sativa cv Nova under intensive rotational management. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 45: 1255-1266.

Johnston WH, Cornish PS and Shoemark VS 2005.. Eragrostis curvula (Schrad.) Nees. complex pastures in southern New South Wales, Australia: a comparison with Medicago sativa L. and Phalaris aquatica L. pastures under rotational grazing. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 45: 401-420.

Cornish, PS 2005.. Case Study: Australian Approaches to Participatory Development and Adoption of More Sustainable Farming Systems. In 'Sustainable Resource Management in Intensive Agriculture Systems'. Ed. ERSEC/UNESCO (Tsinghua University Press and Springer). Pp 255-270.

Freebairn, DM, Cornish, PS, Anderson, WK, Walker, SR, Robinson, JB and Beswick, AR 2005.. Management Systems in Climate Regions of the World – Australia. In 'Dryland Agriculture', Chapter 20, Agronomy Monograph 23, 837-878.

McNamara, LA and Cornish, P 2004.. Participative Decision-Making to Identify Nutrient Pollution Sources and Potential Abatement Actions. J River Basin Management 2: 71-80.

Sun, H and Cornish, P S 2004.. Estimating shallow groundwater recharge in the headwaters of the Liverpool plains using SWAT. Hydrological Processes 19: 795-807.

Baginska , B, Milne-Home, W and Cornish, P S 2003.. Modelling Nutrient Transport in Currency Ck with AnnAGNPS and PEST. Environmental Modelling and Software 18: 801-808.

McCallum, R, Cornish, PS and Fettell, N 2003.. Model Applications in Farming Systems – the Condobolin Experience. Proc 1st Conf Aust Farming Systems Assoc, Toowoomba.

Cornish PS 2003. Prioritising locations, industries and abatement actions for environmental improvement in a heterogeneous catchment: the Sydney Basin Australia. Bruen, M. (Editor) Diffuse Pollution and Basin Management. Proc 7th International Specialised IWA Conference. Dublin, Ireland. ISBN 1902277767, I (2) 7-12.

Harhcegani, H B and Cornish, P S 2003.. A Catchment Approach to Understanding the Sources and Fate of Indicator Bacteria in an Intensive Agricultural Area. Bruen, M. (Editor) Diffuse Pollution and Basin Management. Proc 7th International Specialised IWA Conference. Dublin, Ireland. ISBN 1902277767, III (6): 59-64.

Cornish, P S; Hallissey, R and Hollinger, E 2002.. Is a rainfall simulator useful for estimating phosphorus runoff from dairy pasture? A question of scale-dependency. Australian J Experimental Agriculture 42: 953-59

Sun, H, Cornish, PS and Daniell, T M 2002. Contour-based digital elevation modelling of watershed erosion and sedimentation. Water Resources Research 38: 15-1 - 15-10.

Cornish, PS, Davey, P and Muston, R 2002. Landscape Management in this Millennium: securing enduring relationships between community and country. Proc Fenner Conf on the Environment: Agriculture for the Australian Environment. p 39.

Sun, H, Cornish, PS and Daniell, TM 2002.. Spatial variability in hydrologic modelling using a rainfall runoff model and digital elevation model. J Hydrologic Engineering 7: 404-412.

Hollinger, E, Cornish P S, Baginska, B, Mann, R and Kuczera, G 2001. Farm-scale stormwater losses of sediment and nutrients from a market garden near Sydney, Australia. Agric. Water Management 47: 227-241.

Selected Student Theses

Hollinger, E 1998. Links between management of a market garden and stormwater losses of sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus.

Harchegani, Habib 2002. A Catchment Approach to Understanding the Sources and Fate of Indicator Bacteria in an Intensive Agricultural Area.

Norrish, S 2003. Soil and water interactions controlling wheat crop response to phosphorus fertiliser in north-western NSW.

Popov, V 2005. A catchment approach to managing agricultural pesticides in the environment - a case study with the herbicide atrazine.