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Natural Environments (ENVS10001)
Undergraduate level 1Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 1
Overview
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The subject introduces students to the elements of natural systems that underpin Agricultural production and Natural Resource Management. A critical understanding of these elements and systems is fundamental for the sustainable management of our natural resources. The subject will demonstrate how science can be applied to evaluate and manage ecosystems, and to maintain and improve the productivity of land resource-based industries. Major themes explored include earth processes and materials; landscape processes and soil formation; weather, climate and climate change; microclimate; nutrient cycling in terrestrial systems; the water cycle and catchment hydrology and; agroecosystems. Practical skills in landscape assessment and interpretation are emphasised, as well as an appreciation of the effect of scale and temporal change in the examination of natural and managed systems.
Intended learning outcomes
At the completion of this subject students should be able to:
- Discuss how sustainable management stems from a respect of our planet’s natural systems;
- Recognise the processes that shape our agricultural and natural landscapes;
- Describe and begin to quantify the principles and nature of the global atmospheric circulation system and implications for agriculture;
- Describe and begin to quantify the water cycle, including the impact of catchment hydrology on stream flow and water resources;
- Apply the principles and practices developed in relation to major land systems in Australia and other regions of the world;
- Discuss various practices in the management of land systems at different scales, and the adverse impacts of mismanagement on Agricultural systems.
Generic skills
At the completion of this subject students should have the following skills:
- An ability to utilise a systems approach to analysing the natural systems that underpin Agriculture
- A capacity for independent critical thought, rational inquiry and self-directed learning
- A profound respect for truth and intellectual integrity, and for the ethics of scholarship
- Begun to develop a technical competence in analysing natural systems as they relate to Agriculture
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Assessment
Additional details
- Assignment 1: tutorial/practical notes (for Weeks 3 to 11) (10%)
- Assignment 2: In-semester test of 45 min (for assessment of subject knowledge) due Week 6 (15%)
- Assignment 3: Background research report of 1500 words (group task) due Week 7 (15%)
- Assignment 4: Oral presentation of site visit findings (15 mins) (group task) due Week 10 (20%)
- Assignment 5: Landscape Function Analysis (LFA) Report of 1800 words due two weeks after the end of semester (40%)
Hurdle requirement: Students must attend a minimum 90% of scheduled workshops/practical classes.
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 1
Principal coordinator Tony Weatherley Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 24 hours of lectures, 20 hours of tutorials, 4 hours of lab classes and a one day excursion Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 27 February 2017 to 28 May 2017 Last self-enrol date 10 March 2017 Census date 31 March 2017 Last date to withdraw without fail 5 May 2017 Assessment period ends 23 June 2017 Semester 1 contact information
Time commitment details
170 Hours
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
There are no specifically prescribed or recommended texts for this subject.
- Subject notes
Students enrolled in the BSc (both pre-2008 and new degrees), BASc or a combined BSc course will receive science credit for the completion of this subject.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Course Bachelor of Agriculture Course Bachelor of Environments Major Integrated Geography Major Physical Geography Informal specialisation Science-credited subjects - new generation B-SCI and B-ENG. Informal specialisation Selective subjects for B-BMED Major Landscape Ecosystem Management Major Environmental Science Major Environmental Geography Major Production Animal Health Major Sustainable Production Breadth Track Engineering and Environments Breadth Track Greening Urban Landscapes Breadth Track Living in Australia's Hazardous Ecosystems Breadth Track Natural systems and our designed world Breadth Track Ecology - Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Last updated: 27 April 2024