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  2. Land and Water [SCI6201]

School: Science

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Land and Water

  • Unit Code

    SCI6201

  • Unit Type

    Learning Unit

  • Year

    2027

  • Enrolment Period

    1

  • Version

    1

  • Credit Points

    20

  • Full Year Unit

     N

  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus

  • Unit Coordinator

    Dr Robyn PAICE

Description

This unit will give students an understanding of the physicochemical properties of land and water, as well as how the interaction of these elements influence land use. This learning unit is for students who are taking the Environmental Science option.

Prerequisite Rule

Students must be enrolled in J48

Capabilities

In this unit, students will be developing the following capabilities:

  1. Critical Thinking
  2. Academic Literacy
  3. Communication
  4. Collaboration
  5. Cultural Respect
  6. Digital Literacy
  7. AI Literacy
  8. Career Development Learning

Unit Content

  1. Soil properties - physical, chemical, biological properties and components of soil. Methods (field and laboratory) of soil sampling and description, analysis and classification. Techniques for soil surveying.
  2. Applied soil ecology: ecosystem concepts as applied to soil communities; the contribution of the soil biota to soil structure, decomposition processes and nutrient cycling.
  3. Soil and landscape processes Relationships between geomorphology, soils and hydrology. Processes of landscape and soil development.
  4. Hydrology and land management Pathways of water movement in soil. Aspects of hydrogeology relevant to land management and soil conservation. Principles of catchment hydrology and the land phase (surface and groundwater) of the hydrological cycle.
  5. Land degradation processes - Overview of soil degradation processes and the influence of land use. Particular reference to wind and water erosion, degradation of soil structure, degradation of biological function, salinity and waterlogging, soil fertility and acidification and soil pollution.

Learning Experience

MIXED MODE

On-campus attendance at scheduled classes in designated weeks is expected, intermitted with periods of online learning.

This is a Learning Unit. Learning Units engage students in regular learning activities to develop their knowledge, skills, and capabilities. The learning activities provide each student with feedback to support their development, and create evidence for each student’s progress towards achieving the learning outcomes of the course.

Unit Completion Requirements

GS2 GRADING SCHEMA 2 Used for Undifferentiated Pass/Fail units inc. practical units or work-integrated learning

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

  • Plagiarism: Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).
  • Unauthorised collaboration (collusion): Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).
  • Contract cheating: Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.
  • Cheating in an exam: Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Academic Integrity in Learning Units

The University is committed to creating an academic environment in which learning with integrity means engaging honestly, responsibly and ethically with the curriculum. Engaging in academic misconduct undermines this commitment, impedes the development of authentic knowledge and skills, and prevents meaningful learning. Academic integrity is therefore essential to the learning process and to the value of the qualifications awarded by the University.

Academic Integrity in a Learning Unit includes:

  • Following the guidance for Artificial Intelligence in your unit, taking responsibility for the validity of any information you get from AI tools, and always acknowledging your use fully and accurately;
  • Completing your own work, without copying from others or asking other people to do your work for you;
  • Referencing your sources of information accurately;
  • Attending classes and engaging with the learning materials and feedback.

Your teaching staff will provide feedback if they have concerns that you are not acting with integrity in your learning. However, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are completing your work ethically.

Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply for an extension in accordance with ECU policy and procedure - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in ECU policy and procedure - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

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