Overview
In BOTN19001, you will learn about terrestrial plants – particularly, Australian plants. You will study their evolution, taxonomy, distribution and economic uses. In this Unit, emphasis will be placed on plant identification so you can apply this knowledge in vegetation surveys, ecosystem restoration, remote sensing, assessing responses of native flora to environmental impacts and selecting suitable plant species for economic development. Compulsory practical classes, field visits and herbarium collection will enable you to gain practical skills in plant identification and vegetation surveys.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-requisites: BIOL11099 Living Systems OR BIOL11100 Functional Biology
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).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2018
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).
Residential Schools
This unit has a Compulsory Residential School for distance mode students and the details are:
Click here to see your Residential School Timetable.
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.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
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.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
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.
Feedback from Have your say
Residential school to be run at the beginning of the Term
This option was explored; however, it was decided to hold the residential schools in week 5 or 6, so that the students can attend two or more residential schools at a time, and minimise the costs.
Feedback from Have your say
Study material needs updating
The study guide will be re-rewritten
Feedback from Have your say
I really enjoyed being able to regularly put my learnings into practice, and found myself observing nature in a different way.
Thank you and further support will be provided to improve students' experiences in the Unit. This may be attributed to additional resources made available to the students during 2017 via the videos and tutorial sessions.
Feedback from Have your say
"I finally approach Botany in a holistic and systematic way...there is so much to observe, record, reexamine in this field! Thank you."
Thank you and I am very pleased to hear this. I have taken into consideration the comments made by the students via 'Have Your Say'. I will continue to seek their comments and further improve their learning experiences in this Unit.
Feedback from Have your say
Lecturer's photo covering PPT presentations
Technical help will be sought to allow the students to disable, or minimise the size of the lecturer's photo in the power point presentations.
Feedback from Have your say
"I did find the res school very helpful for my learning and helped cement some topics. I do feel I have learnt a lot regarding plant families and identification and Ashwa has been very helpful "
Thank you. Since this is a practical-oriented Unit, residential school activities and tutorials will be continued to allow the students to gain hands on experience.
- Define selected botanical terms
- Collect and curate specimens and use taxonomic keys to identify native plants
- Examine characteristic features of terrestrial Australian flora, and describe the use of those features in vegetation management and their economic exploitation
- Describe how native flora respond to environmental disturbances, and explain how this knowledge can be applied in revegetation and ecosystem reconstruction
- Undertake vegetation surveys, interpret data and explain the use of GIS and remote sensing techniques in vegetation management.
N/A
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 15% | |||||
| 2 - Practical Assessment - 45% | |||||
| 3 - Examination - 40% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||||
| 5 - Team Work | |||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 15% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Practical Assessment - 45% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Examination - 40% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
Plant Systematics
Edition: Second (2010)
Authors: Michael G. Simpson
Elsevier Academic Press
Sydney Sydney , NSW , Australia
ISBN: 978-0-12-374380-0
Binding: Hardcover
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Lucid software 3.3 (download from www.lucidcentral.org)
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
n.ashwath@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction
Unit Overview
Evolution & Diversity of Plants
Morphology
Chapter
Study Guide 1
Plant Systematics; Chapters 1, 6, 9 (also skim Chapters 3, 4, 5).
Events and Submissions/Topic
Independent Practical Work (IPW) 1
IPW is to be completed by the students during each week of the Term. Details on the Moodle site.
Familiarise yourself with Herbarium Techniques, site description and plant community description.
Use 'Student Forum' on the Moodle site to clarify doubts and to find out new information.
Refer to YouTube videos "Herbarium Techniques" (watch all 10 parts);
https://tinyurl.com/herbarium-techniques
Collect a plant specimen (eg hibiscus) and familiarise with its morphology. Refer to the notes of previous units (eg Living Systems), which show the names of different parts of a plant.
Ask your lecturers for assistance.
The scheduled official PRACTICAL SESSIONS will be held during residential school, and these sessions also include field trips.
Module/Topic
Collection and Curating
Nomenclature
Identification & Authentication
Herbarium Maintenance
Chapter
Study Guide 2
Plant Systematics; Chapters 17, 16, 12, 18, Appendix 1, Appendix 2 and the Resources supplied on the Moodle site for this week.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Quiz 1 - Closes Sunday 18/03/18
IPW 2
Practice the art of collecting a native plant - choose the right part of the plant, press it as shown on the YouTube, and prepare yourself to dissect the flower of the specimen you collect to observe different parts and then to draw the floral diagram.
Warning: Please use a large flower such as hibiscus, as it is easy to see. You can work on the smaller flowers during later part of the Term.
Collect and curate at least two specimens this week.
Module/Topic
Diversity and classification
Taxonomic evidence
History of plant taxonomy.
Chapter
Study Guide 3
Plant Systematics; Chapters 2, 7 and 14
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Quiz 2 - Closes Sunday 25/03/18
IPW 3
Use a magnifying lens to draw floral diagrams of two medium-sized flowers (avoid using grasses or tiny flowers at this time).
Collect and curate plant specimens.
Module/Topic
Plant families and their spotting characteristics
Synoptic keys
Chapter
Study Guide 4
Plant Systematics; Chapters 7, 8, 15, and the Resources supplied on the Moodle site for this week.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Quiz 3 - Closes Sunday 1/04/18
IPW 4
Prepare a table showing characteristic features of selected families
Collect and curate plant specimens.
Module/Topic
Soils, climate and plants.
Chapter
Study Guide 5
Read the Resources supplied on the Moodle site for this week.
Familiarise with the soil types and their influence on plant growth. Examine the composition and structure of plant communities (serpentine, limestone, sand dunes, rainforests, mangroves).
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Quiz 4 - Closes Sunday 8/04/18
IPW 5
Collect and curate plant specimens.
Module/Topic
Make use of the Term break to collect plant specimens for your assignment.
Chapter
Prepare for your residential school.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Try to collect as many specimens (technically correct) as possible. Please find an undisturbed natural site, so the chances of you collecting exotic plants (for which you may not find the info in your key) could be minimised.
Draw floral diagrams of as many specimens as possible - focussing on large to medium sized specimens.
Module/Topic
Australian plant communities: origin, evolution and unique features.
Residential School 21st April to 24th April.
Chapter
Study Guide 6
Read the Resources supplied on the Moodle site for this week.
Examine how Australian flora has changed over time in response to continental drift, Circum Antarctic Current, and human inhabitance.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Quiz 5 - Closes Sunday 22/04/18
IPW 6
Prepare for the Residential School
Pack your specimens and carry them to the residential school, so you could use them in practical sessions and also key them out to genus level.
Module/Topic
Field trip will occur during
Residential School: 21st Apr to 24th April
Chapter
Study Guide 7
Study the Resources supplied on the Moodle site for this week.
On Day 3 of the residential school, we will go on a field trip to inspect selected plant communities that are found around Rockhampton.
Read about unique features of the following plant communities:
Brigalow, serpentine flora, limestone flora, woodlands, coastal heaths, rain forests, grasslands, wetlands, mine sites and mangroves.
Read the Resources supplied on the Moodle site for this week.
Events and Submissions/Topic
IPW 7
Please come prepared for the trip. Query as to why the composition and structure of plant communities found around Rockhampton vary from one location to the other, and why some of the plant communities are unique, in that they are found only around Rockhampton, but no where else in the world.
Practical test during residential school - 24th April, 2018
Hand-in your Practical Note Book - 24th April, 2018
Module/Topic
Vegetation Survey
Chapter
Study Guide 8
Understand various methods of surveying plant communities, and classifying the vegetation into regional ecosystems (RE's) and land zones.
Read the Resources supplied on the Moodle site for this week.
Events and Submissions/Topic
IPW 8
Collect and curate plant specimens.
Module/Topic
Data analysis and display - basic and modern methods of data analysis and presentation
Chapter
Study Guide 9
Plant Systematics; Chapters 2, 19 and Appendix 4
Comparison of different plant communities.
Preparation of dendrograms and PCA plots to show interrelationships between different species or plant communities.
Read the Resources supplied on the Moodle site for this week.
Events and Submissions/Topic
IPW 9
Finalise the field sample collection part of your assignment
Module/Topic
Economic uses of plants- plant species, and plant parts used in daily life.
Bush food and medicinal plants.
Techniques used in the development of new cultivars of plants
Chapter
Study Guide 10
Plant Systematics; Chapters 13 and 14
Read the Resources supplied on the Moodle site for this week.
Events and Submissions/Topic
IPW 10
Ensure that you have collected, curated and identified required number of specimens.
Inspect the specimens and make sure that they are all clean (fungus-free) and intact.
Replace, if you can, the damaged or fungus-infected ones with good specimens.
Module/Topic
Environmental effects on plants
Identification of stress tolerant plants
Chapter
Study Guide 11
Understand the responses of plants to environmental and edaphic stresses (fluoride, sulphur, acid rain, drought, salinity, waterlogging and heavy metals), and the impacts of climate change on Australian plants.
Read the Resources supplied on the Moodle site for this week.
Events and Submissions/Topic
IPW 11
Finalise your specimen collection - and ensure that you have satisfactorily observed the following:
- Preparing the species list with family names
- Maintaining the quality
- Completing the labelling details
- Drawing floral diagrams and
- Keying to family and then to genus levels.
Module/Topic
Ecosystem reconstruction- principles of matching plants to site conditions to achieve long term sustainability.
Chapter
Study Guide 12
Examine the strategies for revegetation, and note the importance of using native plants in mine site revegetation and restoration programs.
Read the Resources supplied on the Moodle site for this week.
Events and Submissions/Topic
IPW 12
Dispatch or hand-in your plant samples by Friday of week 12.
See the Moodle site for details
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Most native plants flower during rainy season. This could range from February to April/May. Please make sure to collect as many specimens as possible during this time.
Please watch the videos on the Moodle site, which show where to go for specimen collection and how to prepare quality specimens.
Try to visit undisturbed sites, away from the built up areas, so as to increase the chances of finding native plants. This will also assist in minimising collection of exotic species.
Please pay attention to the details, as such detailed observation is necessary to successfully identify an unknown specimen to Genus level using the Plant Identification Key.
1 Online Quiz(zes)
There will be a total of 5 on-line quizzes, weekly from weeks 2 to 6.
These quizzes are mostly multiple choice questions and they will help you familiarise yourself with various botanical terms used in the Unit.
Choose a correct answer (s) from multiple choice.There are 10 questions in each quiz
Duration 30 minutes; Attempts allowed 3
5
Other
On scheduled weeks, the Quiz opens on Thursday and closes by midnight on Sunday.
Quiz results will be made available on-line, one week after the expiry of each quiz.
A correct answer will score one mark.
Attempts allowed 3; Grading method: highest grade
- Define selected botanical terms
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
2 Practical Assessment
This assessment has two components. They are:
Part 1. Specimen collection (30% of Unit total)
Submit 20 plant specimens, ensuring that there is no more than one specimen in each genus. The specimens must contain essential parts that are used in the identification (eg flowers), they must be pressed, dried (see https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/assets/documents/plants-animals/herbarium/collecting-manual.pdf), labelled and keyed out to genus level, by drawing floral diagrams (where applicable).
Part 2. Plant identification test (15% of Unit total)
Identify, using keys provided, 5 plant specimens that are supplied by the lecturer during residential school (in-class test).
Both Rockhampton and Flex students must attend the residential school to satisfactorily complete this Unit.
Plant identification test will be conducted during the last day of residential school (24th April 2018). Completed plant specimens must be dispatched or handed in on Friday of week 12.
Please see the Moodle site for further details
Part 1.
Number of botanically acceptable (eg presence of flowers) specimens
Quality of specimens - mounting, drying and labelling
Quality and accuracy of floral diagrams
Correctness of plant identification, including details of the steps taken to assign the specimen to a genus.
Part 2.
Accuracy of evidence provided, including floral diagrams, steps taken in keying and other observations recorded to help assign the specimen to genus.
- Collect and curate specimens and use taxonomic keys to identify native plants
- Examine characteristic features of terrestrial Australian flora, and describe the use of those features in vegetation management and their economic exploitation
- Undertake vegetation surveys, interpret data and explain the use of GIS and remote sensing techniques in vegetation management.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Cross Cultural Competence
Examination
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
