CSA-10806 Orientation Plant Sciences I

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

Dutch

Continuation courses:

NEM-10806 Orientation Plant Sciences II

Contents:

On the basis of topical issues like ' can we really feed the world in 2050' or ' are bio-fuels going to be produced at the expense of food supply of the poor' students are discussing what knowledge is needed to make an intelligent guess about the answer. This then forms the starting point for lectures, self study, group discussions, presentations and written reports. The theory and facts will cover agro-ecology in its full scope. While students gain a qualitative understanding of the roles of (farming) systems analysis and production-consumption chain analysis in re-designing crop production systems they will also make a start with the quantitative analyses needed for such re-designs.

Learning outcomes:

After this course students are expected to be able to:
- describe the difference between a crop, a cropping system, a farming system and a regional land use system;
- describe how water, temperature, soil and crop affect the ecological processes in agro-ecosystems - describe which physical, biological economical and social factors co-determine actual cropping systems and their dynamics;
- describe the role of cycles in the functioning and sustainability of cropping and farming systems - analyse the sustainability issues of a given cropping system;
- describe how consumption production chains are constructed for fresh and dry products and what impact these chains have on plant production systems;
- analyse the tension during a simple re-design of a given farming system between the system and the relevant production-consumption chain(s);
- describe how agro-ecological characterisations are carried out and what elements an agro-ecosystem consists of;
- describe the role of models in regional world wide agro-ecological characterisations for instance analysis of climate change effects etc.;
- determine and defend a viewpoint on the basis of available agro-ecological information, and indicate what are the major limitations in the understanding that would need further elaboration.

Activities:

Lectures, excursions, practicals and problem-based learning.

Examination:

The final grade is based in the workplan, written report and the presentation.

Literature:

A study guide, books and manual for the practical work.