Sharon Aarons

Sharon Rose Aarons (born 1961) is an Australian soil scientist.

Early life and education

Dr Sharon Rose Aarons was born in Jamaica in 1961 and completed her primary and secondary education in Suriname, St. Lucia then Trinidad and Tobago, before completing her Bachelor of Science (Hons.) at the St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI; Trinidad and Tobago). She then returned with her family to Jamaica where she commenced and completed her MPhil (Biochemistry) at the Mona Campus of the UWI. On completion of her masters Aarons then moved to the University of Minnesota, USA to complete her PhD in soil science, specialising in soil biology and soil chemistry, which was awarded in December 1990. Sharon Aarons commenced working in Victoria after migrating to Australia in April 1992. She married Cameron J. P. Gourley, another soil scientist who works at Ellinbank research centre. They have three children, the oldest which is Katherine H. A. Gourley, second oldest is Andrew D. P. Gourley and the youngest is James W. P. Gourley.

Career

In Aarons's early career, her Master's and PhD research focussed on understanding survival of cowpea rhizobia[1] and tolerance of bean rhizobia[2] to low pH respectively. This research aimed to improve agricultural productivity in tropical regions. After completing her PhD, Aarons undertook a Post-Doctoral position in the Plant Pathology Department at the University of Minnesota between 1990 and 1992. In her research there, she used molecular techniques to understand resistance of tomatoes to bacterial wilt as this disease significantly reduces crop production in tropical regions.[3][4]

Since commencing work with the Victorian state government in 1994, Aarons's research has focused on nutrient cycling and improving nutrient management in grazed dairy systems and landscapes in high rainfall regions of south-eastern Australia. Her research aims to improve productivity while minimising environmental consequences through an understanding of the return and cycling of nutrients by grazing animal through the plant and soil. Aarons initially quantified phosphorus cycling in Victorian grazed dairy pastures, including the role of animal excreta in soil and microbial transformations of phosphorus.[5][6] She has also investigated the cycling of phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, nitrogen and other macro nutrients in a range of dairy production systems across Australia, quantifying the impact of animals on the heterogeneous distribution of nutrients in dairy systems.[7][8] In addition to the farm scale, Aarons's research has also occurred at landscape scales where she quantified the impact of dairy management on water quality and biodiversity,[9][10][11] as well as understanding farmer management of riparian areas.[12] Aarons's current research is quantifying at a regional scale the health of dairy soils in Victoria, including the identification of dominant Victorian dairy soil types.[13] She is also investigating the interaction of phosphorus and potassium on a range of dairy soil types across the state and quantifying the soil and pasture responses to encourage better management of these nutrients.

Through her research Aarons has aimed to identify strategies that assist farmers to effectively integrate management of the environment within productive enterprises. To this end communication and extension of research results to farmers and extension providers, via a range of media, has been an integral part of project activities. Aarons has collaborated with many scientists, both within the Victorian Department as well as nationally and internationally. Aarons also been committed to supporting the development of young scientists and has co-supervised four Honours students and three PhD students.

Honours

• Organization of American States (OAS) Research Fellow; 1983 to 1985
• International Student Work Opportunity (ISWOP) financial awards; 1988 to 1989; 1989 to 1990
• Agriculture Victoria Executive Award in Internal Partnerships; 2002

References

  1. ↑ Aarons S, Ahmad MH (1987). Growth and survival of cowpea rhizobia in bauxitic silt loam and sandy clay loam soils. FEMS Microbiological Ecology 45, 77-83
  2. ↑ Aarons SR, Graham PH (1991). Response of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. phaseoli to acidity. Plant and Soil 134, 145-151.
  3. ↑ Dariush D, Aarons SR, McGill GE, Young ND (1994). Genetic dissection of oligogenic resistance to bacterial wilt in tomato. Molecular Plant Microbe Interactions 7, 464-471
  4. ↑ Aarons SR, Danesh D, Young ND (1993). DNA genetic marker mapping of genes for bacterial wilt resistance in tomato, pp. 170-175. In G.L. Hartman and A.C. Hayward (ed.), Bacterial Wilt. Proceedings of an International conference . Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
  5. ↑ Aarons SR, (2001). Cycling of organic phosphorus in grazed dairy systems. DAV392, Report submitted to the Dairy Research and Development Corporation.
  6. ↑ Aarons SR, Gourley CJP, Hall M. Awty I (2000). Phosphorus and potassium recycling in grazed dairy systems and implications for pasture management. pp 1-3, In Soil 2000: New horizons for a new century. Australian and New Zealand second joint soils conference Volume 2: Oral papers (Eds. JA Adams and AK Metherell). 3–8 December 2000, Lincoln University. New Zealand Society of Soil Science.
  7. ↑ Aarons SR, Gourley CJP (2012). Sustainable management of nutrient returns in excreta on grazed dairy soils. In: Proceedings of the 5th Joint Australian and New Zealand Soil Science Conference: Soil solutions for diverse landscapes. Hobart. (Eds LL Burkitt and LA Sparrow). [p 461]. (Australian Society of Soil Science Inc.).
  8. ↑ Gourley CJP, Dougherty WJ, Weaver DM, Aarons SR, Awty IM, Gibson DM, Hannah MC, Smith AP, Peverill KI (2012). Farm-scale nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulfur balances and use efficiencies on Australian dairy farms. Animal Production Science 52, 929–944
  9. ↑ Aarons S, Melland A, Gourley C (2004). Monitoring dairy farm impacts on the Sandy Creek. pp 1-7. In 'Proceedings of the 4th Australian Stream Management Conference: linking rivers to landscapes', Rutherfurd et al. (eds), October 2004 Launceston, Tasmania
  10. ↑ Aarons S, Jones-Lennon M, Papas P, Ainsworth N, Ede F, Davies J (2004). Improving riparian zone management in the intensive grazing industries of southern Victoria. pp 8-12. In 'Proceedings of the 4th Australian Stream Management Conference: linking rivers to landscapes', Rutherfurd et al. (eds), October 2004 Launceston, Tasmania.
  11. ↑ Aarons, SR, Gourley CJP (2012). The role of riparian buffer management in reducing off-site impacts from grazed dairy systems. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 28, 1–16.
  12. ↑ Aarons, SR (2011). Dairy farmers' perceptions of the costs and benefits of riparian management. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 66, 140A-146A.
  13. ↑ Aarons, SR, Crawford D, Imhof M, Gourley C (2014). Can soil change be assessed for the Victorian dairy industry? In Soil Change Matters Proceedings pp 147-153, Soil Change Matters Conference, March 24 to 27 2014, Bendigo, Australia.
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