SLM-31306 Fundamentals of Land Management

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Assumed knowledge on:

SLM-30806 Land degradation and Development.

Contents:

Scientific research is essential for advancing our knowledge on biophysical and socioeconomic factors leading to land degradation or land restoration, and designing sustainable land use and management strategies. This course provides students the tools for doing land management research themselves. It gives students state-of-the-art scientific insights that deal with the fundamentals of land management and the physical environment; i.e. the interacting systems of hydrology, climate, soils and sediments on various temporal and spatial scales. Furthermore, students in this course will learn how to integrate biophysical and socioeconomic data, and apply this in fundamental research and the use of models.
During the first four weeks the course focuses on scientific research and practical applications related to the biophysical environment (climate, hydrology, geology, soils chemistry, soil physics and biological aspects of crops). All these factors determine available land management options and their final sustainable impact on soil and water resources, with fundamental research playing a crucial role. During these weeks methodologies for physical research will be explained and practiced. In a two week practical, measurement techniques of soil physical parameters are explained and practiced in the field and laboratory. During the last two weeks the focus is on the integration of socioeconomic aspects into research for land management (household assets, market integration, policies, etc.). Next to several lectures, a one-week practical provides insight into the scope of integrated models for land management research and their applicability for policy-making. With the emphasis on the fundamentals of land management research and the inclusion of presentations by researchers from the SLM group, by the end of the course students will be equipped to become involved in any research project on either biophysical or socioeconomic aspects of land management.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- explain processes governing degradation processes and research needed to counteract negative physical as well as human impacts;
- explain how physical and socio-economic aspects interact with each other and how these can be researched in an integrated way;
- analyse and formulate how research contributes to sustainable land management;
- apply the concepts and evaluate the difficulties of scaling and mapping in both physical as well as socio-economic research;
- select and apply tools and methods for land management analysis and improvement;
- execute several biophysical research methodologies and evaluate soil physical properties in the field and in the laboratory;
- describe the basics of integrated (biophysical-economic) models and judge their applicability for certain cases of policy-making.

Activities:

- attendance of lectures, discussion and exercises in the class;
- studying lecture notes and journal articles;
- practical work with measuring and analysing soil physical properties in the field and in the laboratory;
- practical work with integrated models and their applicability.

Examination:

- written examination (50%);
- reports of the practical assignments (50%).
All parts need to be passed with at least 5.5.

Literature:

Journal papers and practical guide.