Course overview
This course describes how agricultural and ecological systems are linked to soils and the Australian environment and provides a basis from which sustainability issues can be addressed. Agro ecosystems face increasing pressure in Australia to become more productive, profitable and efficient, yet sustainable. You will learn about the importance of soils in the landscape in relation to management of fertility, water use efficiency, and land degradation. You will learn about important ecological processes that are based in soils and consider a 'whole system' approach to land management. This course will include a blend of interactive lectures, field and laboratory-based activities, and tutorials will be used to help develop fundamental knowledge of soils and landscapes.
Course learning outcomes
- Understand and explain basic principles underlying the physical, chemical and biological properties of soils in landscapes.
- Quantitatively assess and interpret soil characteristics from the landscape to the sub-paddock scale using relevant technologies, including satellite imagery on the landscape scale and emerging digital technologies (precision agriculture) on the sub-paddock scale.
- Undertake (individually, in pairs or groups) simple field sampling of soil and laboratory measurements of basic soil physical and chemical properties proficiently.
- Give a basic description of a soil profile and broadly assign this within the Australian Soil Classification system.
- Search and find (individually and within a team) relevant scientific and technical information in the context of management of soils for different agro ecosystems.
- Critically evaluate and confidently interpret soils data, maps and information especially in relation to identifying potential management issues for agro ecosystems and suggesting potential solutions. This relates to a range of scales, from landscape (e.g. land capability assessment) to sub-paddock (e.g. precision agriculture).
- Communicate effectively to individuals and in groups (orally and written) concerning the application of soil science in agro ecosystem landscape management.
- Integrate elements of knowledge and work to a deadline.