Title: Protection of water quality in New Zealand rural landscapes: Innovative tools for policy, farmers and communities

Presenter: Dr. Ranvir Singh, School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, New Zealand

Presentation Topic: Losses of nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, and suspended sediment from agricultural land to waterways remain a major challenge for protecting and improving water quality in New Zealand's rural landscapes.
In this seminar, Professor Ranvir Singh will present research findings from extensive field measurements and modelling of spatially variable nitrate attenuation ‘reduction’ capacity within subsurface (groundwater) flow pathways, and its potential application for mapping most critical areas for targeting investment and efforts to reduce nitrate losses. He will also discuss the development, evaluation, and application of innovative edge-of-field mitigation technologies, including woodchip bioreactors, managed drainage systems, and sediment detention ponds, designed to intercept and reduce critical nutrient and sediment loss pathways before they reach waterways. Drawing on his experience leading the Catchment Solutions project, Ranvir will share practical insights gained from working alongside local catchment groups, landowners, and farmers to develop and demonstrate pilot-scale water quality mitigation measures within their communities. Working together and sharing knowledge, tools, and resources are key to strengthen rural capability and capacity, putting science into the hands of catchment communities and supporting the development of targeted, practical, and effective water quality mitigation strategies at the catchment scale.

Speaker Biography: Dr. Singh graduated with his Bachelors in Agricultural Engineering and Master of Technology in Soil and Water Engineering from the CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (Haryana, India), and then successfully completed his PhD thesis in Environmental Sciences (2005) at the Wageningen University and Research Centre (The Netherlands). Ranvir had worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate (2005-07) in a Targeted Watershed Program at the Iowa State University (USA), and as a Research Fellow (2007-09) for the CRC for Irrigation Futures at the University of Western Sydney (Australia). Since 2010, he has been working as an academic at Massey University (New Zealand), focusing research and teachings in agricultural water productivity and footprinting sciences, and improving water quality in rural landscapes by researching innovative pathways to mitigate the flow of contaminants from agricultural lands to waterways. This includes leading and supervision of research on in-field measurements, mapping and modelling of naturally existing spatially variable subsurface nitrate attenuation capacity in different hydrogeological settings, and development of novel edge-of-field technologies such as controlled drainage, woodchip bioreactors, and sediment detainment ponds.

Download a flyer for the Fall 2026 seminar series.

This will be an online seminar.  The INRC seminars are free and open to the public. For questions, contact malcolmr@iastate.edu.