AD2FWE: Farmland and Woodland: Ecology and Management

Module code: AD2FWE

Module provider: School of Agriculture, Policy and Development

Credits: 20

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Professor Martin Lukac, email: m.lukac@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Professor Simon Mortimer, email: s.r.mortimer@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The module focuses on the ecology and management of land used for agriculture and forestry, including woodland, grassland, heathland and other semi-natural habitats.  It considers the history of the development of land use by humans and historic and contemporary drivers that have affected the productivity and biodiversity of such systems.  It covers the underlying ecological mechanisms impacting on the productivity and biodiversity of such systems including succession and the interaction of competition and disturbance, along with the impacts of habitat fragmentation and other landscape-scale factors.  The module will introduce the concepts of management planning for particular sites, including the complex decision making necessary for managing sites for multiple objectives (e.g. economic production, biodiversity conservation, carbon storage, recreation, etc.)

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the historic and contemporary use by humans of land for agriculture and forestry and the interaction between economic, environmental and social factors
2. Explain the ecological mechanisms that influence the productivity, structure, composition and biodiversity of semi-natural habitats at both within-site and landscape scales
3. Identify the socio-economic drivers (markets, policy, societal demands, etc.) affecting management of semi-natural habitats and explain how they influence management decisions
4. Evaluate a specific site and design a management plan that reconciles management for multiple and potentially conflicting objectives (e.g. economic production, biodiversiry conservation, recreational access)

Module content

• The semi-natural habitats associated with agriculture and forestry, their historic development and contemporary factors influencing productivity and environmental value and the relationship between land use and factors such as topography, soil type and climate.
• The ecological mechanisms underpinning the productivity and the composition, structure and biological diversity of semi-natural habitats.
• The impacts of the intensification agricultural management and contemporary moves towards nature-friendly and regenerative farming systems.
• Silvicultural practice, including the creation of new woodlands and forests, species selection and options, planting materials and protection.
• The influences of socio-economic factors (markets, fiscal support, legislation, societal attitudes, environmental issues, etc.) on management decisions.
• The process of management planning for sites with multiple (and potentially competing) objectives, including evaluation, priority setting, management activities and monitoring.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module will include lectures, guest speakers, an exercise on setting conservation priorities, a project on developing a management plan for a specific site, and a field visit to a habitat restoration project.

Study hours

At least 44 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Formative feedback will be given in the following ways:

1. On the group exercise on conservation priority setting in the first half of the semester
2. On the group stage of the management planning exercise towards the end of the second half of the semester

Reassessment

Additional costs