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Fire in the Australian Landscape (FRST20015)
Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
To learn more, visit 2023 Course and subject delivery.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Overview
Availability | Semester 2 |
---|---|
Fees | Look up fees |
Australian ecosystems are inextricably linked to fire and adapted to specific fire regimes. The subject explores the role of fire in contemporary Australian landscapes.
Combustion is the result of physical and chemical processes occurring at multiple scales. Students will be taught the fundamentals of combustion. This knowledge will then be extended to measuring and analysing fire behaviour at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Students will also learn the importance of climate, landscape patterns and fire feedbacks in determining the diversity of fire regimes (intensity, frequency, seasonality and extent of fires) under current and past climates.
Students will be taught the fundamentals of fire ecology and the range of approaches to managing biodiversity in flammable ecosystems.
Fire management requires consideration of a wide range of assets in the landscapes. Students will be introduced to the range of approaches to fire management, including indigenous land management, and the ability of each to protect or enhance the things communities value.
Lectures, tutorials and field trips will be used to develop and apply these skills.
Intended learning outcomes
By the end of the subject, students should be able to:
- Explain the physics and chemistry of combustion.
- Analyse the key drivers of landscape fire behaviour and fire regimes.
- Distinguish factors affecting fire intensity, frequency, size, patchiness and seasonality.
- Explain the ecological impacts of fire and the extent to which management can moderate them.
- Evaluate the potential changes to fire regimes under future climates and whether these can be altered by fire management.
- Examine the role of indigenous land management approaches in shaping Australian landscapes in the past, present and future.
Generic skills
In addition to learning specific skills that will assist students in their future careers in science, they will have the opportunity to develop generic skills that will assist them in any future career path. These include;
- High level ability to synthesize and critically evaluate information from a range of sources;
- Ability to organise and evaluate quantitative data;
- High level ability to apply theory to practical problems.
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
One of
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
BIOL10001 | Biology of Australian Flora & Fauna | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
BOTA20002 | Plant Biodiversity | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
ECOL20003 | Ecology | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
ENST20001 | Human Behaviour and Environment | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
ENVS10001 | Natural Environments | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
FRST20014 | Forests in a Global Context | No longer available | |
GEOG20001 | Society and Environments | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
LARC10001 | Natural History | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
Code | Name | Teaching period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
FRST30002 | Fire in the Australian Landscape | No longer available |
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
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Five practical reports, due in weeks 1, 3, 6, 10, 12 (10% per practical report)
| From Week 1 to Week 12 | 50% |
Written Assignment
| Due end of Week 1 of examination period | 50% |
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 2
Coordinator Luke Kelly Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours 52 hours; 11 x 2 hr online lectures, 11 x 2 hr Practicals, 1 x 8 hr day weekend field trip (in week 7) Total time commitment 170 hours Teaching period 24 July 2023 to 22 October 2023 Last self-enrol date 4 August 2023 Census date 31 August 2023 Last date to withdraw without fail 22 September 2023 Assessment period ends 17 November 2023
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Last updated: 27 April 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Prescribed burning in Australasia: the science, practice and politics of burning the bush
edited by Adam Leavesley, Mike Woulters and Richard Thornton, Melbourne (Victoria), Australasian Fire AuthoritiesRecommended texts and other resources
Bradstock, Ross A., Jann E. Williams, and Malcolm A. Gill, eds. Flammable Australia: the fire regimes and biodiversity of a continent. Cambridge University Press, 2012.
- Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Design
- Bachelor of Environments
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art)
- Bachelor of Music
- 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.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 27 April 2024