Assessment 1 - "In-class Test" will be held during residential school. You will be informed of the date of the residential school as soon as it is finalised.
Assessment 2 - "Specimen Collection" assignment is due after the residential school. You will be informed of the date of the residential school as soon as it is finalised.
The end of term examination has now been changed to an alternative form of assessment. This will be an online test. Please see your moodle site for further details.
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 - 2019
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).
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 Moodle
"I enjoyed the practical work, residential school, herbarium assignmen, and got to see Australian plants in nature"
This unit is designed to provide the students with practical experience in plant identification and plant community description. The above focus will be retained and improved.
Feedback from Moodle
This a discipline which I have come to highly respect and enjoy yet there is so much content that it could be broken into two subjects, the vertical and horizontal aspects.
The rejuvenation program has addressed this issue and accordingly, the contents will be spread across two units. This change will come into effect in 2020.
Feedback from Moodle
I learnt a lot in this unit, from Ashwa. He is an engaging lecturer who is extremely knowledgeable in this unit. Not a common quality in lecturers.
Thank you and I will endeavour to maintain this enthusiasm.
Feedback from Moodle
The unit needs to be more inclusive for students in WA. The different climate is an issue with collecting herbarium specimens.
Since the students of this unit come from different parts of Australia, and the local conditions do affect their performance, I will certainly consider this suggestion.
Feedback from Moodle
Provide clearer instructions on assignments, due dates and specimen mailing address
Assignment instructions will be rewritten. Assignment details will be explained in the tutorial sessions
- 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 - First Nations Knowledges | |||||
| 11 - 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 | 11 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 15% | |||||||||||
| 2 - Practical Assessment - 45% | |||||||||||
| 3 - Examination - 40% | |||||||||||
Textbooks
Plant systematics
- 2nd edition (2010)
- Authors: Michael G. Simpson
- Elsevier (Academic Press)
- Sydney Sydney , NSW , Australia
- ISBN: 978-0-12-374380-0
- Binding: Paperback
Additional Textbook Information
Copies can be purchased from the CQUni Bookshop here: http://bookshop.cqu.edu.au (search on the Unit code)
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
n.english@cqu.edu.au
Week 1
Begin Date: 11 Mar 2019Module/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 yourself 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 will also include field trips.
Week 2
Begin Date: 18 Mar 2019Module/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 (Quiz opens on Thursday and closes on the following Monday)
IPW 2
Practice the art of collecting a native plant - choose the right section (s) of the plant, cut it and place it in a plant press as shown in the YouTube videos. Be ready to dissect the flowers of the specimen you have collected to examine different parts and then to draw a floral diagram.
Warning: Please use a large flower such as an hibiscus flower, as it is easy to see different parts without the aid of a microscope. You will have the opportunity to work on smaller flowers during residential school.
Collect and curate at least two specimens this week.
Week 3
Begin Date: 25 Mar 2019Module/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 3
IPW 3
Use a magnifying lens to draw floral diagrams of two medium-sized flowers (avoid using grasses or tiny flowers at this time, as they are difficult and you need dissection experience before you attempt these flowers).
Collect and curate plant specimens.
On-line botanical terms and concepts quiz Due: Week 3 Monday (25 Mar 2019) 11:59 pm AEST
Week 4
Begin Date: 01 Apr 2019Module/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
IPW 4
Prepare a table showing characteristic features of selected families
Collect and curate plant specimens.
Week 5
Begin Date: 08 Apr 2019Module/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 (eg serpentine, limestone, sand dunes, rainforests, mangroves).
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Quiz 4
IPW 5
Collect and curate plant specimens.
Vacation Week
Begin Date: 15 Apr 2019Module/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 as possible (more than what you need so you can discard the ones that are not suitable for dissection)
Please visit 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 the specimens you collect by focusing on the large to medium sized specimens.
Week 6
Begin Date: 22 Apr 2019Module/Topic
Australian plant communities: origin, evolution and unique features.
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
IPW 6
Please come prepared for the Residential School, via:
Revising the botanical terms you have learnt, writing a botanical name, pronouncing botanical names, learning ethics in plant collection, and knowing international code of botanical nomenclature.
Pack your specimens and bring them with you to the residential school, so you could use them in practical sessions and also identify them while learning the techniques.
Week 7
Begin Date: 29 Apr 2019Module/Topic
Field trip will occur during
Residential School: 29th Apr to 2nd May
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 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.
Events and Submissions/Topic
IPW 7
Please come prepared for the field trip.
Start with a question " why plant species differ from one location to the other?" why plant communities found in Rockhampton differ from those present in Cairns or Canberra or Europe or Malaysia. And ask the question 'what are the causes for these differences?
Practical test during residential school - 2nd May 2019
Hand-in your Practical Note Book for correction - 2nd May 2019
Week 8
Begin Date: 06 May 2019Module/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.
Events and Submissions/Topic
IPW 8
Collect and curate plant specimens.
Week 9
Begin Date: 13 May 2019Module/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.
Events and Submissions/Topic
IPW 9
Finalise the sample collection part of your assignment
Week 10
Begin Date: 20 May 2019Module/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 specimens with clean specimens.
Week 11
Begin Date: 27 May 2019Module/Topic
Environmental effects on plants
Identification of stress tolerant plants
Chapter
Study Guide 11
Delineate the responses of plants to environmental and edaphic stresses (fluoride, sulphur, acid rain, drought, salinity, waterlogging and heavy metals), and assess the possible 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 completed the following:
- Preparation of a list showing the names of species and their family names
- Maintaining the quality- no wrinkles and no fungi infested specimens
- Completing the descriptions on the label
- Drawing floral diagrams and
- Keying the specimens to family and then to genus levels.
Week 12
Begin Date: 03 Jun 2019Module/Topic
Ecosystem reconstruction- principles of matching plants to site conditions to achieve long term sustainability.
Chapter
Study Guide 12
Examine the strategies to be used for successful revegetation, and note the importance of using native plants in mine site revegetation or restoration programs.
Events and Submissions/Topic
IPW 12
Dispatch or hand-in your plant samples by Friday of week 12.
See the Moodle site for details
Practical Assessment Due: Week 12 Friday (7 June 2019) 11:59 pm AEST
Review/Exam Week
Begin Date: 10 Jun 2019Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Exam Week
Begin Date: 17 Jun 2019Module/Topic
Prepare for your examination
Chapter
Peruse past exam papers and note the presence of three types of questions
Events and Submissions/Topic
Every time you read a module, try to write down possible questions that may be asked from that module.
Please attend the tutorials as you will get to know how to collect and curate your plant samples.
You can also show your samples to the lecture and seek his help in the collection and identification of specimens.
In Queensland, most plants tend to flower from Feb to April. Please hurry and collect most of your samples during this time.
1 Online Quiz(zes)
There will be a total of 5 on-line quizzes, weekly from week 3 to week 7.
These quizzes are mostly multiple choice questions and they will help familiarise with various botanical terms used in the Unit.
Choose a correct answer (s) from multiple choices.There are 10 questions in each quiz
Duration 30 minutes; Attempts allowed 3; no penalty for guessing an answer.
5
Other
Week 3 Monday (25 Mar 2019) 11:59 pm AEST
On scheduled weeks, the Quiz opens on Thursday and closes by midnight on the following Monday.
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 includes two tasks. They are:
Task 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, labelled and keyed out to genus level, by drawing floral diagrams (where applicable).
Task 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.
Week 12 Friday (7 June 2019) 11:59 pm AEST
Plant identification test will be conducted during the last day of residential school (2nd May 2019). Completed plant specimens must be dispatched via post, or handed in to HMAS school secretary on Friday of week 12.
Please see the Moodle site for further details
Task 1.
Number of botanically acceptable (eg presence of flowers) specimens submitted
Quality of specimens - mounting, drying and labeling
Quality and accuracy of floral diagrams
Correctness of plant identification, including details of the steps taken to assign the specimen to a genus.
Provision of details provided on the labels
Task 2.
Accuracy of evidence provided, including floral diagrams, steps taken in keying, and other observations recorded to help assign the specimen to family and 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
Calculator - non-programmable, no text retrieval, silent only
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Why is academic integrity important?
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