AGRIC 3510WT - Agricultural Resource Management III

In Agricultural Resource Management students will examine the biophysical processes operating at a landscape level and socioeconomic drivers and institutions behind change in agriculture. There are 5 general themes: Climate Change; Water; Energy; Biodiversity; Catchment Management. A series of lectures will outline the technical principles of each of these themes, viz: climate change models, climate adaptation strategies, water policy, irrigation, groundwater flow systems and their management, surface water resource management, carbon economy in agriculture, soil resource management, on-farm biodiversity management, catchment management processes and NRM organisations. Specialist guest speakers will deliver presentations on the salient issues on these themes. In a series of 5 written reports students will apply their own understanding of the technical principles in commentaries on the specialist presentations of issues. Students will be required to read topical material before the specialist lectures. There will be a quiz before each specialist lectures to assess understanding of the pre-reading material. In two oral presentations students will develop the skill of presenting a mature commentary on these resource management issues based on the scientific and technical principles. There will be an all-day field trip to observe agricultural resource management in practice in the Adelaide Hills and/or Murray Lands.