Dr Kamaljit Kaur

Lecturer

Lecturer, James Cook University (2006 - present); Post Doctoral Research Fellow on the TS-CRC funded project (2004-2006). BSc (Hons.) and M.Sc (Hons), Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India PhD Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Queensland. Member of: International Society of Ecological Economics (ISEE), International Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE), Australian Rangeland Society, Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (AIAST)

Research Interests

• Ecological Economics

• Agro-ecology

• Traditional Ecological Knowledge

My research interests lie in- the ecology of agricultural systems, sustainable production and ecological tradeoffs, role of ecosystem services in agricultural systems and in well-being of people, and more broadly on ecological economics of natural systems. I have worked on ecology of grasslands and woodlands in central Queensland, assessing the value of ecosystem services and their importance in well-being of Aboriginal people in Australia.

I am interested to understand the value of ecosystem services, their importance in well-being of a society, and to integrate Indigenous knowledge of natural systems for land management of agricultural systems by developing linkages between ecology, economics and well-being of people.

Research Projects

• Links between wild resources and Aboriginal well-being in the Wet Tropics

• Role of ecosystem services from tropical savannas in well-being of Indigenous communities

Teaching

AG1001

Agriculture and agro-ecosystems

AG3002

Ecological Economics of Agricultural Systems

AG5002

Advanced - Ecological Economics of Agricultural Systems

Selected Publications

Kamaljit Kaur, Rajesh K. Jalota, David J. Midmore (2007) Impacts of tree clearing on soil properties of pasture systems in central Queensland, Australia. Soil Science, 172(7):516-533.

Kamaljit Kaur, Rajesh K. Jalota and David J. Midmore (2007) Impact of temperature and defoliation (simulated grazing) on soil respiration of pasture grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.) in a pot experiment. Agriculture, food and environment, vol 1, issue 1, pp 1:9.

Kamaljit Kaur, R.K. Jalota and R. K. Kohli (2007) Social acceptability and value of use and non-use ecological services of exotic Eucalyptus tereticornis and indigenous Dalbergia sissoo tree plantations in N-W India. Accepted for publication in International Journal of Ecological Economics and Statistics, 7 (W07): 68-85.

Kamaljit Kaur (2006). The role of ecosystem services from tropical savannas in well-being of Aboriginal people: A scoping study. A report for the Tropical Savannas Cooperative Research Centre, Darwin, NT.

Kamaljit Kaur, Rajesh K. Jalota, David J. Midmore and Kerry Walsh (2006) Impact of tree clearing on soil respiration and soil microbial biomass in pasture systems of central Queensland, Australia (authors). Agriculture Journal, 1 (4): 291-302.

Kamaljit Kaur (2006). Multiple Land Use in Tropical Savannas: Concepts and Methods for Valuation. Agricultural Journal, 1(2): 90-95.

Kamaljit Kaur, John Rolfe and Owen Stanley (2006). Net benefits from clearing trees to develop pastures in central Queensland, Australia. Agricultural Journal, 1(2): 81-89.

Kamaljit K. Sangha, David J. Midmore, Rajesh K. Jalota and Nanjappa Ashwath (2006). Pasture composition in cleared and uncleared pastures of central Queensland. Australian Journal of Botany, vol 54 (5): 459-470.

Sangha, K., Jalota, R.K., Midmore D. (2006)Litter production, decomposition and nutrient release in cleared and uncleared pasture systems of central Queensland, Australia. Journal of Tropical Ecology, vol 22 (2): 177-189 (Cambridge Publication).

Jalota R.K., Sangha, K.K. and Kehal H.S. (2005). State of agriculture and natural resources in Punjab and methods for their improvement. In Sustainable Development in India: An Interdisciplinary Perspective (ed. Guljit K. Arora and Arunabh Talwar), pp. 223-235.

Kaur, K., Jalota, R.K., Midmore, D.J. and Rolfe, J. (2005) Pasture production in cleared and uncleared grazing systems of central Queensland. The Rangeland Journal, vol 27 (2): 143-149.

Sangha, K. K. and Jalota, R.K (2005). Value of ecological services of exotic Eucalytus tereticornis and native Dalbergia sissoo tree plantations in N-W India. Conservation and Society, vol 3 (1): 92-108.

Sangha, K. K., Midmore, D.J., Rolfe, J. and Jalota, R.K., (2005) Tradeoffs between pasture production and plant diversity and soil health attributes of pasture systems of central Queensland, Australia. Agriculture, ecosystems and environment 111: 93-103 (Elsevier publication).

Sangha, K. K., Jalota, R.K., and Midmore, D.J. (2005) Impact of tree clearing on soil pH and nutrient availability in grazing systems of central Queensland, Australia. Australian J. Soil Research 43:.51-60.

Rolfe, J., Jalota, R. Sangha, K. and Windle, J. (2002). Grazing property carbon budget in Central Queensland – Avocet property. Carbon Budgeting in Central Queensland, Report No. 3, Central Queensland University, Emerald.

Jalota, R.K., Sangha, K. K. and R. K. Kohli (2000). Under-storey Vegetation of Forest Plantations in N-W India – An Ecological Economic Assessment. Journal of Tropical Medicinal Plants, vol. 1, no. 1&2: 115-124.

Jalota, R. K. and Sangha, K. K. (2000). Comparative Ecological - Economic Analysis of Growth Performance of Exotic E ucalyptus tereticornis and Indigenous Dalbergia sissoo plantations in Mono- culture plantations. Ecological Economics, 33 (3): 487-495 (Elsevier publication).

Contact Details

Dr Kamaljit Kaur

Campus: Townsville

Telephone: +61 7 4781 5732

Fax: +61 7 4725 1570

Email: kamaljit.kaur@jcu.edu.au

Note: Please direct all student enquiries through the School Secretary.