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AESC40250

Academic Year 2024/2025

Soil Resources (AESC40250)

Subject:
Agricultural&Environmental Sci
College:
Health & Agricultural Sciences
School:
Agriculture & Food Science
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Thomas Cummins
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
Online
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module introduces you to soils and will discuss the formation of soils, soil descriptions, the nature and causes of soil variation, the diversity of soil organisms, and the response of soils to management practices.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the course students will:
• understand pedogenesis
• understand the methods used in describing soils
• appreciate the factors which determine the type of soil occurring under particular environmental conditions
• understand the processes involved in the transformation of nutrients in soils
• appreciate the factors which determine the movement of water and nutrients through soil profiles
• appreciate the effects of physical manipulation on soil

Indicative Module Content:

The central role of soils in natural and managed systems paying particular attention to agricultural, forest and built environments; the formation of soils; the physical nature of soils; soil biology; soil descriptions; interactions between the physical and biological aspects of soil which help in the delivery of sustainable production and water management; and soil erosion.

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

16
Autonomous Student Learning

40
Online Learning

48
Total

104

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Online lectures.

A small project assignment is a chance to do their a short piece of focussed research, based on a student-selected geographic or landuse context. Uncritical use of generated content is likely to result in a fail grade for the assignment, while errors in language, punctuation, formatting, or human error within a scholarly work will be accepted.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Incompatibles:
AESC20070 - Soil Resources, ERM40280 - Land Utilisation

Equivalents:
Soil Resources (AESC20070), Soil Science Applications (AESC30220)


 

Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Student Negotiated or Choice of Assessment: Choice from a small number of soil-related topics for intensive, place-specific research. Week 11 Standard conversion grade scale 40% Yes

30

 Yes
Quizzes/Short Exercises: MCQs Week 5, Week 9, Week 12 Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No

70

 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer Yes - 1 Hour
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Online automated feedback

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Quizzes are given with online, automated feedback, following grading. Following assessment of the small project submitted in Week 11, students will be given individual detailed feedback in Brightspace.

Name Role
Professor Michael Bruen Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Mr Eoin Campbell Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Assoc Professor Paul Murphy Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Professor Olaf Schmidt Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Saoirse Tracy Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
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