| Semester 2, 2022 Toowoomba On-campus | |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences |
| School or Department : | School of Agriculture and Environmental Science |
| Student contribution band : | Band 2 |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
| Version produced : | 17 May 2022 |
Overview
The effective management of Australia’s freshwater systems requires an understanding of how physical, chemical and biotic patterns and processes interact across spatial and temporal scales and an analysis of planning issues, policies, and methods, associated with water resource use. The hydrological, biogeochemical, geomorphological and ecological processes and their interactions for sustainable system design from catchments to rivers, wetlands and springs (groundwater) are also important for effective management. The course is of value to students wishing to pursue careers as water scientists, environmental scientists, engineers, field biologists, agricultural scientists, natural resource managers and professional ecologists.
This course explores water and nutrient processes in the catchment to provide an understanding of the relationships between catchment health, water quality and ecosystem functions. Students should be able to explain the major threats to water quality and the ways to monitor and manage those threats through the monitoring of physical, chemical and biological parameters and through the preparation of water quality assessment plans.
This course contains a Highly Recommended residential school at the Toowoomba campus for both external and on-campus students in the form of a two-day excursion to sites within the Toowoomba/Darling Downs region.
Course learning outcomes
On completion of this course students should be able to:
- describe the relationships between catchment health and water quality and identify the major threats to instream water quality and the effects of pollutants on ecosystem health;
- explain the important physico-chemical and biological indicators of water quality and their application;
- critically review the land and water processes that support Australia’s inland systems;
- critically evaluate studies of catchment processes and surface water/groundwater interactions;
- integrate physical and biophysical data with socio-economic data for integrated resource management.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Review of catchment and water resources in Australia and globally | 10.00 |
| 2. | Hydrology and nutrient budget in catchment | 15.00 |
| 3. | Soil erosion and sediment processes and budget at hillslope and catchment | 15.00 |
| 4. | Nutrient cycle and water quality | 10.00 |
| 5. | Key threatening processes to Australia’s aquatic systems | 10.00 |
| 6. | Catchment spatial data analysis | 10.00 |
| 7. | Catchment management | 15.00 |
| 8. | Socio-economic considerations in designing catchment management plan | 5.00 |
| 9. | Managing extreme events in catchment i.e., flood & drought | 10.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
Student workload expectations
To do well in this subject, students are expected to commit approximately 10 hours per week including class contact hours, independent study, and all assessment tasks. If you are undertaking additional activities, which may include placements and residential schools, the weekly workload hours may vary.
Assessment details
| Description | Group Assessment |
Weighting (%) | Course learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiz | No | 20 | 1,2,3,4 |
| Essay | No | 20 | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Report | No | 30 | 1,2,3,5 |
| Time limited online examinatn | No | 30 | 1,2,3,4,5 |