Bushfire & Biodiversity

Subject FRST90026 (2016)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2016.

Credit Points: 12.5
Level: 9 (Graduate/Postgraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

April, Creswick - Taught on campus.
Pre-teaching Period Start 21-Mar-2016
Teaching Period 04-Apr-2016 to 15-Apr-2016
Assessment Period End 10-Jun-2016
Last date to Self-Enrol 23-Mar-2016
Census Date 08-Apr-2016
Last date to Withdraw without fail 13-May-2016

Please note that this subject has pre-teaching dates, and during this time students will be required to read background material associated with Laboratory Assignment 1.




Timetable can be viewed here. For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: 24 hours lectures and 36 hours practical work delivered in a two-week intensive teaching block
Total Time Commitment:

170 hours

Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
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 Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, 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 Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Coordinator

Assoc Prof Alan York

Contact

alan.yorkunimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview:

The course covers the basic effects of fire on aspects of biodiversity and ecological processes. Managers are committed to developing science-based ecological burning strategies which achieve both biodiversity and asset protection objectives. Increased knowledge of the ecological impacts of fire on plants and animals facilitates a better understanding of how more effective management can be achieved.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the subject students should:

* Have an understanding of the nature of plant responses to fire; particularly with regard to seeders and resprouters, seed storage and dispersal and the consequences of repeated fire

* Have an understanding of the response of animals to fire as individuals, populations and assemblages (communities)

* Have an appreciation that these impacts operate at the ecosystem level, depending on attributes of the species concerned and landscape factors such as connectivity and habitat condition

* Have an appreciation that the way fire(s) influence biodiversity depends on a set of interacting factors, including both pre- and post-fire weather, competition and predation

* Have a better understanding of landscape-scale management, where current scientific knowledge is incorporated into planning, monitoring and legislation cycle

Assessment:
  • Laboratory Exercise - 10% (500 words & diagrams) 2 afternoons in the first week.
  • Group Presentation - 10% (3 people) for 30 minutes in total, including PowerPoint (optional), on Day 3 of the 1st week of Intensive subject.
  • Field Exercise and Report - 20% (500 words & maps), due 2 weeks after teaching completed.
  • Major Report (3,000 words) - 60%, due 4 weeks after teaching completed.
Prescribed Texts:

None

Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Links to further information: http://graduate.science.unimelb.edu.au/master-of-forest-ecosystem-science
Related Course(s): Graduate Certificate in Bushfire Planning and Management
Graduate Diploma in Bushfire Planning and Management
Master of Forest Ecosystem Science
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: Conservation and Restoration
Conservation and Restoration
Environmental Science
Environmental Science
Master of Science (Ecosystem Science) - Discipline Elective subjects
Sustainable Forests
Sustainable Forests
Tailored Specialisation
Tailored Specialisation

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