| Responsible Department | Department of Basic Science and Environment | ||||||||||||
| Earliest Possible Year | MSc. 1 year to MSc. 2 year | ||||||||||||
| Duration | One block | ||||||||||||
| Credits | 7.5 (ECTS) | ||||||||||||
| Level of Course | MSc | ||||||||||||
| Examination | Final Examination written examination Written Exam in Lecturehall All aids allowed Description of Examination: The 4-hour written exam is mainly building on the theoretical exercises of the course 7-point scale, internal examiner Dates of Exam: 27 January 2012 | ||||||||||||
| Requirement for Attending Exam | 80% of exercises completed, as verified by instructor prior to exam | ||||||||||||
| Block Placement | Block 2 Week Structure: B integrated in teaching programme throughout all sessions | ||||||||||||
| Language of Instruction | English | ||||||||||||
| Optional Prerequisites | LPLB10306 or similar basic background in soil/water/plant science, external growth factors, environmental science and/or engineering | ||||||||||||
| Course Content | |||||||||||||
| The course focuses on theoretical exercises on the design and management practices in land and water management systems. The main elements of the course are: 1. Introduction: Land and water resources and their importance in developing countries; analytical frameworks (water balance and usage, livelihoods, ecosystems, integrated); tropical climate and soils. 2. Fundamentals: field water balances, fluxes and scale effects; surface irrigation systems, emphasis on rice-based production systems; land consolidation; productivity of rainfall and irrigation water in rainfed and irrigated systems; surface runoff, peak discharges; soil erosion and salinization processes; sloping land management; soil tillage and land configuration. 3. Design principles and practices: rainfall and climate analysis; irrigation: requirements, field application practices, conveyance and distribution; drainage; salinity control; small-scale channel design; salinity management; soil erosion control; runoff control, terracing and water harvesting; and demonstration of relevant public domain software. 4. Land and water development approaches and challenges: community organisations; participatory watershed development, integrated land and water resources management and irrigation modernization, technical and institutional aspects; environmental management and sustainability; adaptation to climate change in land and water management at household, community, national and trans-boundary levels. | |||||||||||||
| Teaching and learning Methods | |||||||||||||
| Combination of lectures and exercises, with the emphasis on theoretical exercises on design principles and practices in land and water management including but not limited to climate assessments, irrigation planning, water harvesting, erosion and salinity control and sloping land management. The teaching sessions normally starts with one or two lectures on fundamental issues pertinent to the theoretical exercise of the day. Most exercises will continue over two days. The students work on the exercises in small groups of 2-3 students under assistance from the instructor, and the results are made available in the class room as the students progresses on the exercise. The exercises are designed to be mostly completed in the class room, but some additional work and finalisation are needed on an individual basis. Effective participation in the exercises require some preparations on the introductory texts before the day of the exercise. Also, the exercises are interdependent and must be completed in the sequence planned to benefit optimally from the work. | |||||||||||||
| Learning Outcome | |||||||||||||
| The course aims at providing students an understanding of soil-water-plant-climate characteristics and processes and of land and water management principles and practices, of importance for crop production in tropical rainfed and irrigated agro-ecosystems in developing countries, thus contributing to knowledge-based development. The focus is on natural science aspects but socio-economic and institutional factors are integrated. Upon completion of the course, the student is expected to be able to: Knowledge: - describe qualitatively and quantitatively the main agrohydrological processes and characteristics in important agro-ecosystems of the tropics and sub-tropics; - reflect on the relationship between land and water management and sustainable development in a developing country context; Skills: - identify, analyse and evaluate land and water related opportunities and constraints in specific locations and production systems - Assess agricultural water management systems (rainfed; irrigation, drainage, waterharvesting)using basic design and management principles and guidelines Competencies: - make basic assessments of land and water resources and management issues at household, community and watershed levels - participate in interdisciplinary work targeting agriculture and natural resources management in developing countries | |||||||||||||
| Course Literature | |||||||||||||
| Ritzema, HP (Editor-in-Chief) (1994). Drainage principles and applications. ILRI Publication 16. Second Revision (Completely Revised). Jensen, JR (2009). Land and water management - a developing country perspective. Theoretical exercises. Samfundslitteratur. Kijne, JW, Barker, R and Molden, D (2003). Water productivity in agriculture: limits and opportunities for improvement. Comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture. CABI Publ. Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture (2007) Water for food water for life. IWMI/Earthscan. Selected materials from various sources. | |||||||||||||
| Course Coordinator | |||||||||||||
| Jens Raunsø Jensen, jrj@life.ku.dk, Department of Basic Sciences and Environment/Agrohydrology, Phone: 353-33387 | |||||||||||||
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