GES3360

Soils, landscape and their management

Ms Meredith Orr

6 points - 3 hours per week on average (2 lectures and 1 lecture plus a 3-hour practical in alternate weeks) - Second semester - Clayton - Prerequisites: GES2130

Objectives By completing this subject students should be able to exhibit a high level of skills in mapping, field description and identification of soils; assess the current explanations for various soil and landscape management problems, by critical evaluation of data from the literature and the field; place soil and land management issues in both their broader social, economic and institutional settings, and in the context of longer term environmental change.

Synopsis This subject builds on GES2130 to explore in greater depth the relationships of soil materials to the landscape, the processes responsible for their development and the issues associated with their management. Students are presented with a number of soil use and management issues, and explore the causes of these issues and their potential solutions in the light of the concepts of ecologically sustainable development and integrated catchment management.

Assessment Written (2000 words): 40% - Examinations (2 hours): 30% - Practical work/fieldwork: 30%

Recommended texts

McDonald R C and others Australian soil and land survey - field handbook 2nd edn, Inkata Press, 1990
White RE Introduction to the principles and practice of soil science 3rd edn Blackwell, 1997

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