ENVR12001 - Soil Science and Conservation

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Soils are the physical and chemical foundation of terrestrial ecosystems and Australian soils are among the oldest and most fragile in the world. In this unit you will learn the origin of soils and how they are affected by geology, geography, climate, living organisms and time. You will develop soil classification and testing skills in the laboratory and in the field, and study the conservation, management and remediation of Australian soils.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisites:

CHEM11043 Atoms, Molecules and Matter

or

CHEM11041 Chemistry for the Life Sciences

and

BIOL11099 Living Systems

or

BIOL11102 Life Science Laboratory

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School Compulsory Residential School
View Unit Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2025

Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Practical and Written Assessment 30%
2. Presentation and Written Assessment 40%
3. Online Quiz(zes) 30%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 14.29% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: SUTE
Feedback
The lectures are dated and no longer current, and they need to be refreshed to align with the latest information and teaching practices.
Recommendation
Lectures and associated content should be reviewed, and new lecture recordings made.
Action Taken
Previously recorded lecture material was again used in the Unit but was supplemented with new lecture and tutorial recordings summarising key topic areas from the previous recording and providing examples of the application of knowledge in real world situations.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Changes in staff during the term caused disruptions.
Recommendation
This was unavoidable in 2024. In future, ensure that staffing is consistent across Moodle, classes and residential school.
Action Taken
One lecturer coordinated the Unit in 2025 to maintain a consistent contact point for the students. A second lecturer delivered some content including active participation in the residential school. Content from ALC staff was also delivered in the Unit.
Source: SUTE, staff reflections
Feedback
Lectures and tutorials should be conducted live where possible rather than just being a Q&A session or a recording from a previous year.
Recommendation
Consider increasing live sessions in the next offering.
Action Taken
Each of the new lecture and tutorial sessions were run as live sessions with a zoom link set up on the Moodle page. Student participation in live sessions was very low.
Source: SUTE, staff reflections
Feedback
Additional explanation on chemical calculations is needed during the residential school sessions. Furthermore, additional content and resources beyond the residential school are also required.
Recommendation
Ensure that staff are fully aware of all requirements and are adequately equipped to teach the chemical calculations. Additionally, provide supplementary content and resources to support learning outside of the residential school sessions.
Action Taken
The soil chemistry component of the residential school was covered in detail, and students performed well in the practical write ups from that activity at the residential school as well as in the soil chemistry questions in the end of term quiz.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Difficulty in locating and accessing assessment feedback was reported.
Recommendation
Provide clearer instructions on where to find and how to interpret assessment feedback.
Action Taken
Individual feedback on assessment tasks was provided to each student after the assessments had been graded for all of the class.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Students reflected positively on teaching staff and commented that they learnt a lot of valuable skills and enjoyed the field trip/laboratory experience.
Recommendation
This comment reinforced the value of preparing thoroughly for the residential school to ensure all activities could be clearly explained and students could learn from them. Any staff teaching this unit in future should review the residential school handbook carefully to ensure activities and calculations are explained clearly to the students.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Staff reflections
Feedback
Assessment 3 (End of term online quiz) is open to students using generative AI to come up with answers.
Recommendation
Replace Assessment 3 with an alternative type of assessment that has lower risk of academic integrity breaches through use of GenAI.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Staff reflections
Feedback
Staff turnover in the unit coordinator role has been high and unit content has not been substantially reviewed and updated in the past 3 years.
Recommendation
Allocate unit coordinator role to a staff member who is likely to continue in the role and that staff member should review, and where relevant update, the unit content to reflect more recent trends and case study examples of soil conservation and management.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Describe the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of soil
  2. Describe and classify a range of soils
  3. Plan and conduct soil tests in the laboratory and field
  4. Discuss the major challenges for the sustainable management and remediation of Australian soils.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Practical and Written Assessment • • •
2 - Presentation and Written Assessment • • •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Communication • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • • •
5 - Team Work •
6 - Information Technology Competence •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Practical and Written Assessment • • • • • •
2 - Presentation and Written Assessment • • • • • • •
3 - Online Quiz(zes) • • • •