An ability to read and understand the landscape is integral to understanding ecology and is an important precursor to the conservation and sustainable management of forests, woodlands and farmland. As a southern hemisphere continent that has been geologically stable for millennia, Australia has developed a unique combination of landforms, regolith, soils and vegetation. The factors important to the evolution of the Australian landscape and the processes by which these form a sustainable and regenerative system are the focus of this course.

Geological, geomorphological, ecological and biogeochemical processes form the basis of an analysis of how vegetation communities, landforms and the mantle of regolith and soils form across the landscape. The roles of biota, disturbance and competition are integral to this analysis. Soils cannot form in the absence of biota, particularly vegetation, and of course, vegetation does not exist in nature without soils, leading to parallel evolution.

Modules include: the reproductive biology and growth habits of eucalypts (as an example of vegetation); eucalypt biogeography and adaptation to Australian environmental conditions; the weathering of underlying geology; erosion and deposition of materials in the terrestrial landscape; the development of the regolith mantle, and ultimately the formation of soils on the surface.

This is a hands-on course with a substantial practical component. Students reinforce and extend concepts presented in lectures through a coordinated set of field exercises located in Canberra Nature Parks, Namadgi National Park, the ANU Kioloa field station and the Murramarang National Park. Students apply their knowledge in a major project to collect data across a landscape and synthesise the results in a model explaining the distribution of vegetation and soils at a range of scales.

Note: Graduate students attend joint classes with undergraduates but are assessed separately.

On satisfying the requirements of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Describe the classification of major Australian soils and vegetation types, their geographical occurrence and explain factors controlling their distribution at a range of scales
2. Apply Eucalypt taxonomy and explain the reproductive biology and growth habits of eucalypts
3. Explain and compare plant adaptations to Australian environmental conditions
4. Describe and analyse patterning and processes in vegetation types and landscapes and synthesise the results to explain biogeography
5. Analyse and compare models of succession describing vegetation and soil response to natural and anthropogenic disturbances - particularly fire
6. Critically assess information sources, synthesise an evidenced based argument and communicate findings to audiences in appropriate ways.

• Short reports of field practicals (40%

• Kioloa field trip report (30%)

• Research essay (30%)

65 contact hours comprising lectures, tutorials and fieldwork

Incompatible with ENVS6206, SRES6019, ENVS6019

Williams, J and Woinarski, J, eds (1997) Eucalypt Ecology: individuals to ecosystems. Cambridge University Press.

Corbett, JR. (1969) The Living Soil, Martindale Press