People_
Professor Willem Vervoort
Professor in Hydrology and Catchment Management
School of Life and Environmental Sciences
Director of the ARC Training Centre in Data Analytics for Resources and Environments (DARE)
School of Life and Environmental Sciences
Director of the ARC Training Centre in Data Analytics for Resources and Environments (DARE)
Address
C81 - ATP - The Biomedical Building
The University of Sydney
Details
Member of Sydney Environment Institute
Member of Sydney Institute of Agriculture
Member of Sydney Southeast Asia Centre
Member of The Net Zero Institute
Willem Vervoort is a Professor in Hydrology and Catchment Management and Director of the ARC Training Centre in Data Analytics for Resources and Environments (DARE) at the University of Sydney. He has a PhD in field hydrology from the University of Georgia in the US and Agricultural Engineering undergraduate degree from Wageningen University in Soil Conservation. Willem is the leading hydrologist at the University of Sydney and an expert in quantitative Hydrology and Catchment Management. His main research focus is the development of sustainable water management in relation to a varying climate leveraging a long association with agricultural research and agricultural production.
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I am interested in a variety projects related to water, agriculture and the environment. The aim of our research lab is to understand the natural variability of Australian landscapes to improve the management of human variability (impacts). Water is a major factor limiting global development, my work aims to improve water management through better models and better data analysis.
I use simplified and complex models to characterise key landscape, climate and water relationships and to support experimental work. As an example, current projects include: groundwater interactions in stochastic ecohydrological models to predict vegetation distributions, measuring transmission losses from semi-arid rivers, probabilistic forecasting of rainfall, droughts and river flows, managing uncertainty in hydrological modeling, identifying spatial and temporal variability in groundwater levels and quality.
Internationally, I collaborate with colleagues in Mexico, the UK and the Netherlands, and in India. This includes capacity building projects as well as research projects.
Plant biology and production, Ecology and Evolution, Environment
| Project title | Research student |
|---|---|
| Regenerative Agriculture Impacts and Opportunities | Wiyanda AFLAH |
| Can past catchment variability and integrated data analysis tell us about how to adapt to future changes? | Eliana NERVI FAGGIANI |
| Ecohydrological modelling of flood and groundwater dependent ecosystems | Rasanthi WIMALASURIYA |
Publications
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Book Chapters
- Glendenning, C., Vervoort, R. (2015). Rainwater Harvesting - A supply-Side Management Tool for Sustaining Groundwater in India. In Walter Leal Filho, Vakur Sumer (Eds.), Sustainable Water Use and Management: Examples of New Approaches and Perspectives, (pp. 313-337). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. [More Information]
- Vervoort, R. (2014). Maintaining Landscape Functionality Under Land Use Change. In B Maheshwari, R Purohit, H Malano, V P Singh, P Amerasinghe (Eds.), The Security of Water, Food, Energy and Liveability of Cities: Challenges and Opportunities for Peri-Urban Futures, (pp. 393-401). Dordrecht: Springer. [More Information]
- Vervoort, R. (2007). Management of Water Resources under Uncertainty: What does the future hold? In Gavin Birch (Eds.), Water Wind Art and Debate - How environmental concerns impact on disciplinary research, (pp. 181-213). Sydney: Sydney University Press.
Journals
- Fuentes, I., Vervoort, R., McPhee, J., Rojas, L. (2024). Agricultural water accounting: Complementing a governance monitoring schema with remote sensing calculations at different scales. Agricultural Water Management, 292, 108676. [More Information]
- Alonso, J., Silveira, L., Vervoort, R. (2024). Assessing effects of afforestation on streamflow in Uruguay: From small to large basins. Hydrological Processes, 38(9), e15272. [More Information]
- Fuentes, I., Vervoort, R., McPhee, J. (2024). Global evapotranspiration models and their performance at different spatial scales: Contrasting a latitudinal gradient against global catchments. Journal of Hydrology, 628, 130477. [More Information]
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Conferences
- Fuentes, I., Padarian Campusano, J., Vervoort, R. (2018). Comparing Volume Estimates from Flood Detection Algorithms for Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Floods (forthcoming). 9th International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software (iEMSs 2018), United States: Colorado State University.
- Vervoort, R., Pierce, S. (2018). Examples of 'optimal' integration in the IWRM field: a review (forthcoming). 9th International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software (iEMSs 2018), United States: Colorado State University.
- Tran, B., Vervoort, R., Van Ogtrop, F. (2018). Identifying Model Structure using Catchment Characteristics (forthcoming). 9th International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software (iEMSs 2018), United States: Colorado State University.
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Magazine / Newspaper Articles
- Vervoort, R. (2015). Questions loom on mining's legacy. The Land.
- Vervoort, R. (2014). Dams are not the smart way to secure water for agriculture. The Conversation.
Report
- Naderpajouh, N., Zolghadr, A., Habibi Moshfegh, P., Pakizeh, A., Schlosberg, D., Opdyke, A., Howard, A., Morgan, S., Van Ogtrop, F., Matous, P., Bailie, J., Hadigheh, S., Zhang, H., Crock, M., Vervoort, R. (2024). Community Risk Assessment: Connecting technical knowledge with local and Indigenous knowledge. Sydney Environment Institute.
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2024
- Fuentes, I., Vervoort, R., McPhee, J., Rojas, L. (2024). Agricultural water accounting: Complementing a governance monitoring schema with remote sensing calculations at different scales. Agricultural Water Management, 292, 108676. [More Information]
- Alonso, J., Silveira, L., Vervoort, R. (2024). Assessing effects of afforestation on streamflow in Uruguay: From small to large basins. Hydrological Processes, 38(9), e15272. [More Information]
- Naderpajouh, N., Zolghadr, A., Habibi Moshfegh, P., Pakizeh, A., Schlosberg, D., Opdyke, A., Howard, A., Morgan, S., Van Ogtrop, F., Matous, P., Bailie, J., Hadigheh, S., Zhang, H., Crock, M., Vervoort, R. (2024). Community Risk Assessment: Connecting technical knowledge with local and Indigenous knowledge. Sydney Environment Institute.
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2023
- Doody, T., Gao, S., Vervoort, R., Pritchard, J., Davies, M., Nolan, M., Nagler, P. (2023). A river basin spatial model to quantitively advance understanding of riverine tree response dynamics to water availability and hydrological management. Journal of Environmental Management, 332. [More Information]
- Vervoort, R., Nervi, E., Baethgen, W. (2023). Integrated catchment models for policy development and decision making; [Modelos integrados de bacias para desenvolvimento e políticas e tomada de decisões]; [Modelos integrados de cuencas hidrográficas para el desarrollo de políticas y la toma de decisiones]. Agrociencia Uruguay, 27(E1). [More Information]
2022
- Mather, B., Muller, D., O'Neill, C., Beall, A., Vervoort, R., Moresi, L. (2022). Constraining the response of continental-scale groundwater flow to climate change. Scientific Reports, 12(Article number: 4539), 1-16. [More Information]
- Fowler, K., Peel, M., Saft, M., Peterson, T., Western, A., Band, L., Petheram, C., Dharmadi, S., Tan, K., Zhang, L., Marshall, L., Vervoort, R., et al (2022). Explaining changes in rainfall-runoff relationships during and after Australia's Millennium Drought: a community perspective. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 26(23), 6073-6120. [More Information]
- Filippi, P., Whelan, B., Vervoort, R., Bishop, T. (2022). Identifying crop yield gaps with site- and season-specific data-driven models of yield potential. Precision Agriculture, 23(2), 578-601. [More Information]
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2021
- Vervoort, R., Dolk, M., Van Ogtrop, F. (2021). Climate change and other trends in streamflow observations in Australian forested catchments since 1970. Hydrological Processes, 35(1), e13999. [More Information]
- Doody, T., Gehrig, S., Vervoort, R., Colloff, M., Doble, R. (2021). Determining water requirements for Black Box (Eucalyptus largiflorens) floodplain woodlands of high conservation value using drip-irrigation. Hydrological Processes, 35(7), e14291. [More Information]
- Anshuka, A., Buzacott, A., Vervoort, R., Van Ogtrop, F. (2021). Developing drought index–based forecasts for tropical climates using wavelet neural network: an application in Fiji. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 143(1-2), 557-569. [More Information]
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2020
- Fuentes, I., Padarian Campusano, J., Iwanaga, T., Vervoort, R. (2020). 3D lithological mapping of borehole descriptions using word embeddings. Computers and Geosciences, 141, 104516. [More Information]
- Tang, F., La Cecilia, D., Vervoort, R., Coleman, N., Conoley, C., Maggi, F. (2020). A simple pre-factor for contaminant biodegradation potential and its application to pesticides risk assessment. Mathematics and Computers in Simulation, 175, 108-120. [More Information]
- Coleman, N., Rich, D., Tang, F., Vervoort, R., Maggi, F. (2020). Biodegradation and Abiotic Degradation of Trifluralin: A Commonly Used Herbicide with a Poorly Understood Environmental Fate. Environmental Science & Technology, 54(17), 10399-10410. [More Information]
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2019
- Fuentes, I., Padarian, J., Van Ogtrop, F., Vervoort, R. (2019). Comparison of Surface Water Volume Estimation Methodologies That Couple Surface Reflectance Data and Digital Terrain Models. Water, 11(4), 1-19. [More Information]
- Buzacott, A., Tran, B., Van Ogtrop, F., Vervoort, R. (2019). Conceptual Models and Calibration Performance - Investigating Catchment Bias. Water, 11(11), 1-21. [More Information]
- Liang, C., Van Ogtrop, F., Vervoort, R. (2019). Detecting the impact of land cover change on observed rainfall. PeerJ, 7, 1-28. [More Information]
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2018
- Gharun, M., Possell, M., Vervoort, R., Adams, M., Bell, T. (2018). Can a growth model be used to describe forest carbon and water balance after fuel reduction burning in temperate forests? Science of the Total Environment, 615, 1000-1009. [More Information]
- Fuentes, I., Padarian Campusano, J., Vervoort, R. (2018). Comparing Volume Estimates from Flood Detection Algorithms for Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Floods (forthcoming). 9th International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software (iEMSs 2018), United States: Colorado State University.
- Vervoort, R., Pierce, S. (2018). Examples of 'optimal' integration in the IWRM field: a review (forthcoming). 9th International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software (iEMSs 2018), United States: Colorado State University.
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2017
- Vetter, T., Reinhardt, J., Florke, M., Van Griensven, A., Hattermann, F., Huang, S., Koch, H., Pechlivanidis, I., Plotner, S., Seidou, O., Vervoort, R., et al (2017). Evaluation of sources of uncertainty in projected hydrological changes under climate change in 12 large-scale river basins. Climatic Change, 141(3), 419-433. [More Information]
- Kundu, D., Vervoort, R., Van Ogtrop, F. (2017). Inferring catchment flow path responses using a data-driven model: an exploratory study based on a generalized additive model. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 62(12), 1965-1979. [More Information]
- Tang, F., La Cecilia, D., Vervoort, R., Coleman, N., Conoley, C., Maggi, F. (2017). Integrating biological degradation potential into ecological risk assessment. 22nd International Congress on Modelling and Simulation (MODSIM 2017), Australia: Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand Inc (MSSANZ).
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2016
- Cheviron, B., Vervoort, R., Albasha, R., Dairon, R., Le Priol, C., Maihol, J. (2016). A framework to use crop models for multi-objective constrained optimization of irrigation strategies. Environmental Modelling and Software, 86, 145-157. [More Information]
- Kundu, D., Van Ogtrop, F., Vervoort, R. (2016). Identifying model consistency through stepwise calibration to capture streamflow variability. Environmental Modelling and Software, 84, 1-17. [More Information]
- Montazerolghaem, M., Vervoort, R., Minasny, B., McBratney, A. (2016). Long-term variability of the leading seasonal modes of rainfall in south-eastern Australia. Weather and Climate Extremes, 13, 1-14. [More Information]
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2015
- Vervoort, R. (2015). Questions loom on mining's legacy. The Land.
- Glendenning, C., Vervoort, R. (2015). Rainwater Harvesting - A supply-Side Management Tool for Sustaining Groundwater in India. In Walter Leal Filho, Vakur Sumer (Eds.), Sustainable Water Use and Management: Examples of New Approaches and Perspectives, (pp. 313-337). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. [More Information]
2014
- Gharun, M., Vervoort, R., Turnbull, T., Adams, M. (2014). A test of how coupling of vegetation to the atmosphere and climate spatial variation affects water yield modelling in mountainous catchments. Journal of Hydrology, 514, 202-213. [More Information]
- Vervoort, R. (2014). Dams are not the smart way to secure water for agriculture. The Conversation.
- Vervoort, R. (2014). Maintaining Landscape Functionality Under Land Use Change. In B Maheshwari, R Purohit, H Malano, V P Singh, P Amerasinghe (Eds.), The Security of Water, Food, Energy and Liveability of Cities: Challenges and Opportunities for Peri-Urban Futures, (pp. 393-401). Dordrecht: Springer. [More Information]
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2013
- Vanags, C., Vervoort, R. (2013). Hydrological and water-use efficiency implications of geomorphological stratification in palaeochannels in the Northern Murray-Darling basin. Crop and Pasture Science, 64(11-12), 1182-1194. [More Information]
- Bennett, S., Bishop, T., Vervoort, R. (2013). Using SWAP to quantify space and time related uncertainty in deep drainage model estimates: A case study from northern NSW, Australia. Agricultural Water Management, 130, 142-153. [More Information]
2012
- Glendenning, C., Van Ogtrop, F., Mishra, A., Vervoort, R. (2012). Balancing watershed and local scale impacts of rain water harvesting in India-A review. Agricultural Water Management, 107, 1-13. [More Information]
- Lee, L., Ancev, T., Vervoort, R. (2012). Evaluation of environmental policies targeting irrigated agriculture: The case of the Mooki catchment, Australia. Agricultural Water Management, 109(June 2012), 107-116. [More Information]
- Vervoort, R., van der Zee, S. (2012). On stochastic modelling of groundwater uptake in semi-arid water-limited systems: Root density and seasonality effects. Ecohydrology, 5(5), 580-595. [More Information]
2011
- Glendenning, C., Vervoort, R. (2011). Hydrological impacts of rainwater harvesting (RWH) in a case study catchment: The Arvari River, Rajasthan, India Part 2. Catchment-scale impacts. Agricultural Water Management, 98, 715-730. [More Information]
- Stoof, C., Vervoort, R., Iwema, J., Van den Elsen, E., Ferreira, A., Ritsema, C. (2011). Hydrological response of a small catchment burned by experimental fire. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions, 16(2), 267-285. [More Information]
- Van Ogtrop, F., Vervoort, R., Heller, G., Stasinopoulos, D., Rigby, R. (2011). Long-range forecasting of intermittent streamflow. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 15(11), 3343-3354. [More Information]
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2010
- Glendenning, C., Vervoort, R. (2010). Hydrological impacts of rainwater harvesting (RWH) in a case study catchment: The Arvari River, Rajasthan, India. Part 1: Field-scale impacts. Agricultural Water Management, 98, 331-342. [More Information]
2009
- Vervoort, R., Torfs, P., Van Ogtrop, F. (2009). Irrigation increases moisture recycling and climate feedback. Australian Journal of Water Resources, 13(2), 121-133. [More Information]
- Jones, M., Vervoort, R., Cattle, J. (2009). Nutrient losses under simulated rainfall from pasture plots in the Great Lakes District, New South Wales. Australian Journal of Soil Research, 47(6), 555-564. [More Information]
- Vervoort, R., van der Zee, S. (2009). Stochastic soil water dynamics of phreatophyte vegetation with dimorphic root systems. Water Resources Research, 45(10), W10439-1-W10439-13. [More Information]
2008
- Vervoort, R., van der Zee, S. (2008). Simulating the effect of capillary flux on the soil water balance in a stochastic ecohydrological framework. Water Resources Research, 44, 1-15. [More Information]
2007
- Lee, L., Ancev, T., Vervoort, R. (2007). Environmental and economic impacts of water scarcity and market reform on the Mooki catchment. The Environmentalist, 27(1), 39-49. [More Information]
- Vervoort, R. (2007). Management of Water Resources under Uncertainty: What does the future hold? In Gavin Birch (Eds.), Water Wind Art and Debate - How environmental concerns impact on disciplinary research, (pp. 181-213). Sydney: Sydney University Press.
- Ancev, T., Vervoort, R. (2007). The national plan for water security: Taking over the role of the market? Connections: Farm, Food and Resource Issues, 2007 (Paper 18).
2006
- Vervoort, R., Annen, Y. (2006). Palaeochannels in Northern New South Wales: Inversion of electromagnetic induction data to infer hydrologicaly relevant stratigraphy. Australian Journal of Soil Research, 44(1), 35-45. [More Information]
- Vervoort, R., Minasny, B., Cattle, S. (2006). The hydrology of Vertosols used for cotton production: II. Pedotransfer functions to predict hydraulic properties. Australian Journal of Soil Research, 44(5), 479-486. [More Information]
2003
- Vervoort, R., Cattle, S. (2003). Linking hydraulic conductivity and tortuosity parameters to pore space geometry and pore-size distribution. Journal of Hydrology, 272(1-4), 36-49. [More Information]
- Vervoort, R., Silburn, M., Kirby, M. (2003). Near surface water balance in the northern Murray-Darling basin. Water Science and Technology, 48(7), 207-214.
- Vervoort, R., Cattle, S., Minasny, B. (2003). The hydrology of Vertosols used for cotton production : I. Hydraulic, structural and fundamental soil properties. Australian Journal of Soil Research, 41(7), 1255-1272. [More Information]
2002
- McBratney, A., Minasny, B., Cattle, S., Vervoort, R. (2002). From Pedotransfer functions to soil inference systems. Geoderma, 109(1-2), 41-73. [More Information]
2001
- Vervoort, R., Dabney,, S., Romkens, M. (2001). Tillage and Row Position Effects on Water and Solute Infiltration Characteristics. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 65, 1227-1234.
1999
- Vervoort, R., Radcliffe, D., West, L. (1999). Soil structure development and preferential solute flow. Polygraph International, 1, 913-928.
Selected Grants
2024
- REmote Sensing INtegration For Optimized Resource Management: Scaling farm water balance toolboxfor mapping the water productivity and sustainability of the Australian agricultural sector, Vervoort R, European Commission (Belgium)/Horizon 2020
2022
- Precision AG Analytics for Frost and Heat Management, Filippi P, Bishop T, Whelan B, Van Ogtrop F, Vervoort R, Tan D, Grains Research and Development Corporation - GRDC/Client Commissioned Research
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