BT5101 - Tropical Soils

Credit points:	03
Year:	2005
Student Contribution Band:	Band 2
Administered by:

Students will be expected to attend lectures, practicals and field trips in BT3101.

The subject offers an introduction to soil science with special emphasis on weathering, formation and degradation of soils in tropical environments. It deals with the recognition and description of soils in the field and provides an understanding of the processes active in tropical soils. Students will develop an appreciation of the significance to land use and management of the physical, chemical and biological properties and processes in soils including compaction, water availability, soil fertility and plant nutrition, colloids, cation and anion exchange, soil sodicity, acidity, salinity, deep weathering, life forms in the soil, organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling. Other aspects of the subject include the more applied aspects of soil science including soil classification, land resource assessment, land degradation, especially soil erosion and salinity problems and remediation strategies for degraded urban and rural soils.

Learning Outcomes

• to appreciate how soil science principles provide a foundation for sustainable land management practices in the tropics;
• to develop practical skills needed for describing soils in the field, classifying soils, interpreting soil survey data and making land resource assessments;
• to introduce students to the nature and properties of tropical soils;
• to understand the processes that underpin methods used in the management and remediation of degraded soils.

Graduate Qualities

• The ability to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.

Inadmissible Subject Combinations:

BT3101

Availabilities
, , Study Period 1
Census Date 31-Mar-2005
Coord/Lect:	btrjc.
Contact hours:	26 hours 26 hours 6 hours
Assessment:	(10%); (20%); (20%); (50%).
, , Study Period 1
Census Date 31-Mar-2005
Face to face teaching (Consult School for on-campus attendance requirements)
Coord/Lect:	btrjc.
Contact hours:	26 hours 26 hours 6 hours
Assessment:	(10%); (10%); (20%); (20%); (40%).
Special Assessment Requirements:	Assessment for limited attendance students by take-home examination (20%); literature review (20%); essay (20%); independent project (20%); seminar (10%); class test (10%).

Note: Minor variations might occur due to the continuous Subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.