PLANT SC 3530WT - Plant Production and Global Climate Change III

Waite Campus - Semester 2 - 2018

This course provides a basis for an in-depth understanding of the impacts of global climate change on plant growth and development with a specific focus on how climate change is likely to affect plant production. Crops and agricultural systems of particular importance to Australian agricultural and horticultural production will be closely examined. The course will highlight the importance of understanding the mechanisms by which elevated CO2, increased temperature and changing rainfall patterns will affect plant performance and production. An integrative approach will be taken to understand how climate change affects plant biochemical processes and phenology so that students can themselves predict t he consequences of climate change for any particular crop species. Changing phenology, plant species range shifts, changing pest pressure and variation in yield will also be explored in the context of climate change. Specifically the responses of photosynthesis and respiration to elevated CO2 and rising temperatures will be examined in the context of modelling the responses of plant systems to global climate change. This course integrates concepts of physiology, biochemistry, genetics, agronomy, and pest management gained by students in previous courses thus developing an in-depth understanding of the drivers of climate change and how future prediction models are generated.

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Course Details

Course Code	PLANT SC 3530WT
Course	Plant Production and Global Climate Change III
Coordinating Unit	School of Agriculture, Food and Wine
Term	Semester 2
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	Waite Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 6 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	BIOLOGY 1101 or BIOLOGY 1401, CHEM 1100 or CHEM 1101, PLANT SC 2510 or ENV BIOL 2500
Assessment	Final exam, literature review, Online activities, Practical report

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Beth Loveys

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

Describe how the climate is changing and explain the natural and anthropogenic causes for climate variation.
Understand the concepts and limitations in the global climate models that are used to predict future climate scenarios.
Describe how climate change impacts on key plant processes such as phenology, photosynthesis, respiration and growth.
Understand the implications of changing climate on plant production in a range of cropping systems.
Apply knowledge about the response of plants to climate change to specific agricultural and horticultural species and predict the production outcomes or the locations best suited for production systems in future climate scenarios.
Source and critically analyse relevant peer reviewed literature.
Communicate aspects of climate change science to their peers in accessible language.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1-7
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	4-7
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	7
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	5
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	n/a
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	6,7

Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

The course will be delivered internally and will be offered on a single day. Each day will consist of:

1. Lecture composed of 2 seminars of 1 hour each- the first two weeks of lectures will provide basic background information. The lectures in the following ten weeks will be delivered by AFW academics and also 2-4 guest lecturers from our co-located partners.

2. Workshop of 2 hours- the focus of workshops will be accessing, analysing and critiquing relevant scientific literature. Students will work in groups over several sessions to summarise a paper of their choice to present to the class.

3. Practical session of 2 hours- practicals will be supported by interactive, online modules to prepare students for practical classes. Practicals will take advantage of the orchards and vineyards at the Waite and will allow students to manipulate and observe plant responses to variable climate.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

A student enrolled in a 3 unit course, such as this, should expect to spend, on average 12 hours per week on the studies required. This includes both the formal contact time required to the course (e.g., lectures and practicals), as well as non-contact time (e.g., reading and revision).

Learning Activities Summary

The seminars, workshops and practicals in this course aim to provide students with an advanced understanding of the theory and evidence of climate change and the broad impacts that climate change will have on plant production systems. Examples specific to the Australian plant production context will be of central importance but as climate change is an issue that impacts globally international examples and experiences will also be used. The seminars will provide students with core and current knowledge delivered by experts in their respective fields. Consistency of delivery will be provided by UofA academic staff but experts from partner institutions will also contribute. Workshops are designed to provide students will the opportunity to source, discuss and critically evaluate published literature. Practical sessions will allow students to manipulate plant systems experimentally and using techniques and instruments commonly used by researchers in fields of plant science students will measure the response of plants to environmental variables. Practicals will give students’ first-hand, applied experience of the scientific research process required to assess the impacts of climate change on plant production systems.

Specific Course Requirements

None

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Type of assessment	Percentage of total assessment for grading purposes	Hurdle Yes or Not	Outcomes being assessed/achieved	Approximate Timing of Assessment
Literature Review and Workshop Participation	Formative and Summative	20%	No	1,4 and 6	Week 7 / Post day 13
Annotated Bibliography	Formative	10%	No	1.4 and 6	Continual
Practical report	Summative	20%	No	3,4	Week 9 / Post day 13
Online Pre-prac activities	Formative and Summative	15%	No	1,5	Week 4,6,10
Final exam	Summative	35%	No	1-7	Exam period

Assessment Detail

Literature review and workshop participation (20%) The workshops will provide scaffolding of student’s ability and skill to find, interpret and critically evaluate scientific literature. Students will select a topic on which to focus their literature review (1500 words), and they will be asked to keep a running list of the journal articles they have sourced for their review as a journal entry on MyUni. By week 4, staff will provide feedback to students about the appropriateness of the articles they have chosen. The review will be due in week 7 of semester and will be submitted as a Turnitin assignment. Marks and feedback will be available 2-3 weeks after submission.

Annotated Bibliography (10%)
Students will collect papers, webpages, books and other literature relevant to their chosen topic for their literature review. Students will submit the bibliography in weeks 3, 6, 9 and 12. The mark will be assigned in week 12.

Practical report/presentation (20%) A written report or oral presentation (student choice) in the style of the results and discussion scientific paper on the Module 4 practical session will be submitted as a Turnitin assignment in week 9 of semester. The related practical work will be completed between week 3-6 of semester.

Online pre-practical activities (15%) Each practical will have a short online activity associated with it. These activities will be designed using a flipped classroom approach and will prepare students for practical activities. Content will be delivered by way of videos of AFW staff demonstrating the use of laboratory equipment, MCQ to test knowledge and important safety information. Students will have unlimited attempts at the quizzes and will receive feedback on incorrect answers. The online activities will be spaced throughout the semester and should not take more than 15 minutes to complete.

Final exam (35%)

A three hour exam on all material covered in the course. The question style will be varied, multiple choice, short answer and data interpretation.

Submission

Late submission:

For all Faculty courses except Level II and III SAVS courses:

If an extension is not applied for, or not granted then a penalty for late submission will apply. A penalty of 10% of the value of the assignment for each calendar day that the assignment is late (i.e. weekends count as 2 days), up to a maximum of 50% of the available marks will be applied. This means that an assignment that is 5 days late or more without an approved extension can only receive a maximum of 50% of the marks available for that assignment.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator