207-170 Applied Ecology in the Rural Environment

202154 Introductory Biology for Land and Food

On completion of the subject, students should:

• understand ecology of crop and pasture communities and factors that influence yield;

• appreciate the importance of spatial and temporal differences in plant communities, and the consequences for the management of natural and production systems;

• have knowledge of ecosystem structure and function, the impact of human and natural disturbances on these ecosystems and the roles of individual organisms, species and populations within ecosystems and communities with emphasis on cropping and pasture systems; and

• have experience in using practical skills and tools for efficient management of cropping and grazing systems.

Topics covered are:

• the theoretical basis of plant establishment under annual and perennial cropping and pasture systems;

• the population ecology of plants, including pathways of plant recruitment and survival, and growth cycles of annual and perennial plants;

• plant-environment interactions, resource capture, plant strategies and adaptation, and potential productivity;

• community ecology, particularly inter- and intra- specific competition and plant x animal interactions as they influence the botanical composition of plant communities; and

• ecological sustainability and productivity and interactions between plants, animals and their environment, their effects on the productivity and botanical composition.

One 2-hour end-of-semester examination (50%), one 1-hour mid-semester examination (15 %), one 1-hour practical examination (15%), and two 2000-word assignments (20%).