Landscapes and Diversity

Subject GEOG20009 (2016)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2016.

Credit Points: 12.5
Level: 2 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

Semester 2, Parkville - Taught on campus.
Pre-teaching Period Start not applicable
Teaching Period 25-Jul-2016 to 23-Oct-2016
Assessment Period End 18-Nov-2016
Last date to Self-Enrol 05-Aug-2016
Census Date 31-Aug-2016
Last date to Withdraw without fail 23-Sep-2016


Timetable can be viewed here. For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: 24 hours of lectures, 16 hours of practicals and a field trip.
Total Time Commitment:

170 hours.

Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge:

Completion at least 25 points of first- and/or second-year subjects from one or more of the following study areas or equivalent subjects with the approval of the co-ordinator: Agriculture, Australian Indigenous Studies, Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences, Biology, Botany, Ecology, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Studies, Environments, Earth Sciences, Forest Science, Geography, Natural Resource Management, Science, Zoology.

Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Objectives, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Disability Liaison: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Coordinator

Dr Ian Thomas

Contact

i.thomas@unimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview:

This subject focuses on the relationship between landforms and the diversity of plants and animals they host. It investigates the way in which certain landscapes support particular types of ecosystems and the roles played by climate, time and earth surface processes in maintaining and forcing change in those ecosystems. The key systems covered include river, wetland, groundwater, karst, desert and alpine. The subject also considers human impacts and climate change and how these may determine biodiversity and geomorphological trajectories of these systems. Field work (of up to 5 days through the semester) will be a key learning mode. Through lectures, practicals and field exercises, skills will be developed in a range of analytical techniques used to investigate relevant environmental processes and changes.

Learning Outcomes:

Students will develop an understanding of how key ecosystems function in the landscape. Through lectures, practicals and field exercises students will gain knowledge and develop skills in the following:

  • how ecosystems are controlled by processes operating over catchment and regional scales;
  • how ecosystems are important for the maintenance of biodiversity and the quality of human life; and
  • how changes due to climate change or human impacts affect the timing and scale of environmental processes.
Assessment:
  • Laboratory practicals (35%).
  • Field report, 1,500 words, due in week 9 (30%).
  • One 2-hour examination (35%).

Students must submit 8/10 of the laboratory practical assignments and attend the field trip to be eligible to pass the subject.

Prescribed Texts: None
Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:

Be able to:

  • understand the broad-scale relationships between landforms and ecosystem diversity;
  • understand the influence of human impacts, time and climate on these relationships;
  • critically evaluate the published literature concerning river, lake, groundwater, cave, desert, alpine and wetland systems;
  • write clear and concise reports and reviews;
  • understand important methods of environmental analysis; and
  • conduct library-based research.
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: Environmental Geographies, Politics and Cultures major
Environmental Geography
Environments Discipline subjects
Integrated Geography
Integrated Geography
Physical Geography
Physical Geography
Science-credited subjects - new generation B-SCI and B-ENG.
Selective subjects for B-BMED

Download PDF version.