The Soil Environment (LAND2003)

Course overview

The course is an introduction to basic soil functions, its properties, and processes studied from the environmental and agricultural perspective. Students will learn about dynamic interactions between basic physical, biological, and chemical soil properties and processes. The lectures will provide understanding of underlying processes in soils responsible for water and nutrient cycling and contaminant transport in soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. The practical sessions will allow students to better understand the complexity of soils by engaging in key soil analysis. The course is designed to provide basic understanding of the importance of soils and addressing issues related to soil degradation, climate change, environmental management, and food security.

External mode of study is restricted and will require permission to enrol. To request permission email agriculture@enquire.uq.edu.au with the course information and include relevant supporting evidence.

Eligibility criteria:

• Students must show evidence that travel time of greater than 90 minutes or 100km from Gatton Campus and is reflected in mySI-net: Acceptable Evidence advice that MySi-net record is up to date.
• Students must show evidence that work commitments restrict their ability to attend regular practicals: Acceptable Evidence a letter from employer - Students with core course timetable clashes: Acceptable Evidence a copy of correspondence from Science My Timetable indicating clash is unable to be resolved. Clashes with elective courses will not be considered.
• Students unable to provide this evidence will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

This course will be last offered in external mode in 2025.

The Soil Environmentﾠcourse is intended to provide students with an overview of soil functions in the environment and its basic properties. Soils are recognized as the underpinning of terrestrial ecosystems and the source of a wide range of essential ecosystem services.ﾠAn understanding of the soil system is therefore critical for sustaining plant ecosystems and to support animals and humans. Soils also play a central role in many of today’s environmental challenges.

As an introductory Soil Science course, the key focus will be to provide basic information about soil physical, biological and chemical processes and their interactions. You will explore these principles in agricultural and environmental context which will ensure fundamental knowledge that is essential for a wide range of disciplines.

The course is divided into four basic modules, with a number of relevant topics:

Module 1: Soil composition, classification, and land use

Module 2: Soil-water interactions

Module 3: Plant nutrients

Module 4: Environmental soil science

Course requirements

Assumed background

There are no prerequisites for this course. Students are assumed to have a satisfactory level of achievement in secondary school English (or equivalent) and reasonable general knowledge.

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

Lectures will be delivered in-personﾠ(lecture recordings will be available on BlackBoard after lectures are presented).

Practical sessions are delivered in-person only with compulsory participation.

Aims and outcomes

To develop basic understanding in the core concepts of soil science using relevant theoretical concepts supported by practical examples within agricultural and environmental contexts. This course aims to provide you with an introduction to soil science that will help you to explain their importance in a global context. In addition, the course provides students with the relevant knowledge and skills that are needed for further study in the areas of agricultural and environmental science.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Practical assessments

Mode

Activity/ Performance, Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Practical/ Demonstration

Weight

50% (each practical report 12.5%)

Due date

Practical 1: Soil characteristics 3/04/2025 5:00 pm

Practical 2: Characterising soil profiles 22/05/2025 5:00 pm

Practical 3: Soil physical properties 17/04/2025 5:00 pm

Practical 4: Soil respiration (Group 3) 11/04/2025 5:00 pm

Practical 4: Soil respiration (Group 1) 1/05/2025 5:00 pm

Practical Groups will have varied due dates dependent on their scheduled practical session. Practical schedules and due dates will be published on Blackboard. 

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04

Task description

Submission guidelines

Assignments must be uploaded into Turnitin (Blackboard) by the submission date. All files must be uploaded as either a Microsoft Word Document (.doc) or Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) - other file formats cannot be opened and will not be assessed. Your name and student number must be written clearly at the top of the assignment text.

Legal Declaration

By submitting your work via this website, you formally declare that (1) it is your own original work, and no part of the work has been copied from any other source or person except where due acknowledgement is made; (2) no part of the work has been previously submitted for assessment in this or any other institution; and (3) you have read the UQ Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Policy and understand its implications.

This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI and/or MT technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.

A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission, independent of AI and MT tools.

Please refer to the UQ Library Turnitin help page for more information regarding how to submit assignments via Turnitin (https://web.library.uq.edu.au/library-services/it/learnuq-blackboard-help/learnuq-assessment/turnitin-assignments)

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

For details on Practical Participation refer to Additional Course Grading Information – PRACTICAL CLASSES.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Pre-exam quiz on lecture content

• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Quiz

Weight

10%

Due date

6/05/2025 - 8/05/2025

Other conditions

Student specific.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes

L01, L03, L04

Task description

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Final Examination

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

40%

Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025

Learning outcomes

L01, L03, L04, L05

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

COURSE GRADING RULES AND ASSESSMENT HURDLES

Students must pass the end-of-semester exam in order to pass the course.

If a student obtains an overall percentage greater than the cut-offs set to achieve a 4 or higher for the course based on the cumulative mark of all assessments, and the student does NOT score a result greater than 50% in the final exam, they are unable to achieve a grade higher than a 3 (failing grade) for the course.

You must address any additional assessment requirements identified in this eCP.

PRACTICAL CLASSES

For internal students, there are Practical Classes scheduled every 2-3 weeks. The practicals run for approximately 3 hours and are a combination of laboratory-based and field-based activities. To obtain a grade for the practical classes students must participate and complete the associated exercises (submitting the practical report via Blackboard - Turnitin). ﾠIf you do not participate in a practical class, or do not provide evidence of your attendance (i.e. signing attendance sheet), your report will not be marked/graded.

Students need toﾠsubmit an assessment extension request via my.UQ My requests, for missing a practical session. Acceptable evidence for practical non-attendance is similar to the evidence required for a deferred examination. The Practical sessions are timetabled activities, and if students miss a practical and request exemption/access to online material as relevant, they must provide documentation that shows they were unable to attend the practical on the relevant day. Documentation for ongoing conditions, such as Student Access Plans, are not acceptable evidence for missed Practical sessions.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Additional assessment information

Assignment writing

You must not re-use past work from previous assessments in your assignments. You are encouraged to:

• read the instructions for assignments carefully and ensure that you address all the requirements,
• refer to references both in the readings and beyond, and cite references in the appropriate manner,
• reflect on your own experience and provide insight and critical thinking,
• write clearly and concisely.

Turnitin Assignments

Assignments that are required to be submitted through TurnItIn, must only be uploaded to the assessment specific Turnitin link on the relevant course Blackboard site. ﾠIf you submit any version of your assessment item to any other Turnitin link, this is considered cheating, and you will be held liable for this action.

Release of marks  

Unless specifically indicated by the course coordinator, every attempt will be made to have the results for progressive assessment available within 3 weeks of submission. For items of assessment submitted in the last 2 weeks of the semester, the results will not be available until grades release day. Results and feedback availability will be advised to you by email or announced via the course Blackboard site.  

Re-mark Applications – refer to the University's Re-mark Policy to check your eligibility.

Remark applications will not be considered without first having contacted your Course Co-ordinator.

Information for students can be found at : https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/exams-and-assessment/querying-result

Deferred and Supplementary assessment (including Deferred Examinations)

Deferred and Supplementary information can be located on the my.UQ website.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.