Land and Water (11776.1)

This unit provides a framework for how water, sediment and biota move around the landscape, and how these interactions create and modify the landscapes and waterways that we rely on. This integrated understanding is essential for addressing management issues at the catchment scale.

The unit covers topics of geomorphology, surface and groundwater hydrology, environmental chemistry and how these interact with soils and biota at the land surface. Practical activities, including field trips, focus on linkages between different parts of the landscape, and will highlight current themes relevant to industry and the community to connect the fundamental theory to applied issues. This unit addresses various Threshold Learning Outcomes (TLO) for environment and sustainability endorsed by the Australian Council of Environmental Deans and Directors (ACEDD).

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Analyse evidence from spatial and temporal patterns the characteristics of soil, biota and water to determine the nature and activity of different environmental processes across the landscape, and how these influence patterns in geomorphic and ecological zones;
2. Interpret how chemical, biological and physical processes influence the flow of nutrients and contaminants around the landscape;
3. Evaluate how a system may respond to change in the fundamental driving forces in catchment properties; and
4. Communicate with diverse groups in various contexts using a range of written, oral and visual means (ACEDD TLO 3.5).

Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives

Prerequisites

11773 Applied Ecology OR 10231 Ecology

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

10224 Integrated Catchment Science

Assumed knowledge

None.