Dr Leigh Davison BE(Mech)(UNSW), BSc(UNSW), PhD(StrucEng)(UNSW) Leigh is a senior lecturer in the School of Environmental Science and Management. His main academic research and consultancy work has been in the development of ecotechnologies for resource conservation and recovery, specifically in the field of on-site wastewater management, composting toilet design and extension, the use of constructed wetlands for water pollution control and the sustainable management of aquatic ecosystems. Recent projects have explored the use of reed beds, sand filters and other devices to treat a variety of effluent types including landfill leachate, nursery runoff, greywater and municipal wastewater. Outside the university Leigh has been active in the fields of sustainable agriculture and land management and has played a role locally, regionally and nationally in organisations related to organic and bio-dynamic agriculture and permaculture. His main off-campus activities relate to the management of a 100 ha property which supports a small dairy herd and a subsistence agricultural system based on the traditional concept of the mixed organic farm. Approximately 80% of the property is being encouraged to return to its original forested condition. In his capacity as a landholder Leigh has participated in his local Landcare Group, as well as regional catchment and water management committees.
Journal articles
Evapotranspiration from subsurface horizontal flow wetlands planted with Phragmites australis in sub-tropical Australia (with Thomas R. Headley, David O. Huett, and R Muller), Water Research (2012)
The balance between evapotranspiration (ET) loss and rainfall ingress in treatment wetlands (TWs) can affect...
Temporal and spatial variability in the cycling of nitrogen within a constructed wetland: a whole-system stable-isotope-addition experiment (with Dirk V. Erler and Bradley D. Eyre), Limnology and Oceanography (2010)
Constructed wetlands attenuate effluent nutrients, are hydrodynamically well defined, and are a useful proxy for...
The contribution of anammox and denitrification to sediment N2 production in a surface flow constructed wetland (with Dirk V. Erler and Bradley D. Eyre), Environmental Science and Technology (2008)
This study used anaerobic slurry assays and intact core incubations to quantify potential rates of...
Dealing with nitrogen in subtropical Australia: seven case studies in the diffusion of ecotechnological innovation (with D Pont, Keith G. Bolton, and Tom R. Headley), Ecological Engineering (2006)
This paper describes seven case studies in which ecotechnological approaches are being used to reduce...
Aspects of design, structure, performance and operation of reed beds - eight years' experience in northeastern New South Wales, Australia (with Tom R. Headley and K Pratt), Water Science & Technology (2005)
Reed beds (horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands) have been employed as secondary treatment devices in...
Conference publications
The community garden as an organ of the closed cycle neighbourhood metabolism: options for the sub-tropics, Proceedings of Community Garden Conference: Promoting sustainability, health and inclusion in the city (2010)
As the inevitable decline in availability of non-renewable agricultural inputs proceeds, increasing emphasis will be...
Constructed wetlands in Oceania: experiences from tropical islands to the desert (with Tom R. Headley, C Tanner, and M L. Bayley), Proceedings of the Society of Wetland Scientists European Chapter Conference (2008)
Sustainable settlements for the NSW North Coast, 2nd Regional Forum on Climage Change and Coastal Communities: Adaptation to and mitigation of climate change in the northern rivers and northern NSW region (2008)
Treatment wetlands in Oceania: experiences and case studies (with Tom R. Headley, C Tanner, and M L. Bayley), Proceedings of Monitoring of heavy metals and selected risk elements during wastewater treatment in constructed wetlands (2008)