6 EC
Semester 1, period 1
5132PLSI6Y
One of the major challenges humanity faces is producing enough food for a burgeoning world population without destroying our environment. In the course Plant-soil interactions in food production systems you will get an understanding of the pressures and challenges global food production is facing, with a specific focus on the role of plant-soil interactions in these aspects. Almost every food production system depends on the interactions between plants and soils: soils underpin plant growth, but plants also modify soil properties. Plants and soils interact through a wide range of mechanisms. In this course, you will learn about the fundamental processes through which plants and soils interact, including both the biotic and abiotic components that govern these processes, and how these processes are affected by common agricultural practices and can provide solutions for the challenges global food production is facing.
Scheffer & Schachtschabel. 2016. Soil Science. Springer. ISBN 978-3-642-30941-0
Randall & Smith. 2019. The Biology of Agroecosystems. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780198737520
Hillis, D. et al. 2020. Life: The science of biology. 12th Edition. MacMillan Learning. ISBN: 9781319315788
There is a Canvas module for each week, which includes modules for the activities in that week: lectures, working groups, and quizzes. These modules include the material that needs to be read, as well as extra material, and (links to) the assignments that need to be completed.
Additional reading for each lecture can be found on Canvas under the individual lecture and working group/ quiz modules
The lectures introduce and explain content, mechanisms, and concepts.
Working groups (werkcolleges - WCs) are for deepening and broadening understanding of the material covered in the lectures, applying this knowledge to new situations, and developing presentation and design skills.
Online quizzes are for testing your understanding of the material and practising exam questions.
The Group Project has the aim of understanding real-world food production systems, and analysing and critically evaluating how plant-soil interactions can be managed in these real world systems, including their trade-offs.
Self-study will broaden and deepen understanding of concepts and mechanisms introduced in the lectures.
Activity |
Hours |
|
Hoorcollege |
24 |
|
Presentatie |
2 |
|
Tentamen |
2 |
|
Werkcollege |
10 |
|
Quizzes |
14 |
|
Group assignment |
40 |
|
Self study |
74 |
|
Total |
168 |
(6 EC x 28 uur) |
Programme's requirements concerning attendance (OER-B):
Additional requirements for this course:
Attending all scheduled education activities is strongly advised. By doing so, you actively contribute to a lively learning community and significantly improve your chances of successfully completing the course. The designated mandatory activities play a crucial role in achieving the course objectives and are essential for your overall progress. By registering for this course, you are complying with the rules regarding attendance and agreeing to actively prepare for and participate in the mandatory activities.
The Working Groups are compulsory and the student has to attend at least 4 out of the 5 Working Groups (werkcolleges).
The Working Groups include class discussions and group assignments. The material is not just limited to literature, but also involves articulating and applying the ideas, theories, and concepts from the literature. Therefore, the quality of the Working Groups largely depends on the attendance, preparation, and active participation of every student.
Item and weight | Details |
Final grade | |
0.7 (70%) Tentamen | Must be ≥ 5.5 |
0.3 (30%) Final upload group poster/video | Must be ≥ 5.5 |
While the final grade will be calculated from the exam and the group project, the individual parts have to be graded higher than a 5.5. There will also be working group assignments that will need to be submitted as well as online quizzes - these will be pass/fail.
Leerdoel: | Toetsonderdeel 1: | Toetsonderdeel 2: |
---|---|---|
#1. | Working group | Exam |
#2. | Working group | Exam |
#3. | Working group | Exam |
#4. | Working group | Exam |
#5. | Working Group | Group Project |
#6. | Working group | Group project |
#7. | Group project | |
#8. | Group project | |
#9. | Working group | Group project |
#10. | Group project |
Students that took the course last year will not have to redo the group project (if they had a grade higher than 5.5 for this) or attend the Working Groups (although it is recommended to attend them), but will have to retake the exam.
After the exam, the course coordinator will notify the students about time slots available to inspect their work and request feedback.
Working group assignments
The Working Groups (WGs) are interactive and have the aim to broaden and deepen the students' understanding of the topics and concepts explained in the lectures. Some WGs will require group assignments to be submitted through Canvas. These assignments are pass/fail. Feedback will be given during the tutorials by the lecturers delivering the WG.
Quizzes
The quizzes allow students to assess their learning progress and to prepare for the exam questions. They are not compulsory but strongly recommended.
Poster or video (Group Project)
The students will select and visit a farm, and interview the farmer (this may have to be online or via a phone call) OR document a component of a food production system and highlighting the role of specific plant-soil interactions within this system (e.g. an allotment, garden, or food forest) in groups of 4 students. The purpose of the group project is to understand the relevance of plant-soil interactions for real-world food production systems. The final product of this visit will be either a video or a poster, in which the students outline how the farmer manages plant-soil interactions on his/her farm, give a theoretical framing of this, and critically evaluate its effectiveness. Normally, all students in a group will get the same grade, unless there is good reason to divert from this. Feedback will be given in the final WG, and on the completed mark form.
Written exam
The written exam will be in week 8 and covers the reading material, the material discussed during the lectures, as well as the exercises practiced in the quizzes. The exam consists of open questions that test the student’s understanding of concepts and mechanisms and their ability to synthesise these. Feedback can be requested after the exam. There will be a resit exam in January for those students who do not pass the exam.
The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl
Weeknummer | Onderwerpen | Studiestof |
1 | Introduction, crop domestication |
See Canvas Modules for details |
2 | Fundamental plant processes and soil formation and classification |
See Canvas Modules for details |
3 | Field week for Plant-soil interactions practical (coordinator: Elly Morrien) | |
4 | Soil C, N, P cycling and charge |
See Canvas Modules for details |
5 | Plant-soil interactions, soil organisms, symbiosis |
See Canvas Modules for details |
6 | The soil food web, pests and pathogens | See Canvas Modules for details |
7 | Harnessing plant-soil interactions, poster session |
See Canvas Modules for details |
8 | Written exam | See Canvas Modules for details |
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In order to provide students some insight how we use the feedback of student evaluations to enhance the quality of education, we decided to include the table below in all course guides.
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