Soils support agricultural and natural ecosystems and regulate environmental interactions between the hydrosphere and atmosphere. It is the quality of our soils that affect productivity, the environment, health and ultimately sustainability. However, challenges such as those presented by lack of plant nutrient supply, soil acidification, physical degradation, soil contamination, and loss of soil biodiversity are problems at a global scale that threaten the sustainability of the environment and society. As well as the threats the importance of maintaining a quality soil that regulates environmental interactions will be explored, such as soil as a sink for carbon affecting climate interactions or understanding how a rich soil biodiversity can contribute to food production affecting food security. To do this, this unit of study is concerned with exploring the key pedology, soil chemistry, soil physical and soil biological processes that drive these challenges to soil quality. Time will be spent investigating how the quality of the soil can be assessed, using the indicators of the mentioned soil processes, and how the resulting data can be aggregated and communicated in a meaningful way. Working with case studies, the students will identify problems that are assessed using soil quality or function analysis with the aim of identifying management options. The management options will be evaluated to determine their adoptability and implement ability. By investigating the case studies using soil quality or function analysis students will develop their research and enquiry skills. Assessing and developing adoptable management strategies the students will develop their skills in synthesising material from multiple sources and enhance their intellectual autonomy. By producing reports and presenting seminars the students will develop their communication skills.

This unit examines agronomy as the discipline that underpins agricultural production. As a case study, the cotton industry is examined in detail to understand the end-user and social demands on agricultural production, the technical issues that challenge the farmer and the diversity of other specialist information from relevant disciplines such as entomology, pathology and soil science that must be integrated into the farming system. The unit also covers precision agriculture, legume science, rangeland science and crop protection. This unit includes a one-week excursion to cotton growing areas in northern NSW and Qld, specialist intensive instruction provided by the Cotton RDC, and a series of workshops, tutorials that provides analysis and synthesis of the major farming systems in this industry. Pasture production is also considered in the context of farming systems.

This unit provides students with an overview of current debates and approaches to understanding and quantifying interactions between the biosphere, oceans and atmosphere, as used around the world, and the consequences of those interactions for climate. The unit considers climate change on a variety of timescales. This unit will include a weekend field trip to Snowy Mountains field sites where students will be introduced to climate change research.

The aim of this unit is to introduce the concept of strategy and explain its role in the management of organisations. The unit thus traces the development of strategic management as a field and examines different approaches to strategic management. WORK6002 introduces students to the classical strategy process of strategic analysis, strategy formulation and strategy implementation. This involves learning about and working with a range of strategy models and tools that can be used in the strategic management of organisations. In particular, a range of case studies is used to explore the practical application of these tools. The unit also critically examines traditional views of strategy by introducing a range of current debates in the strategy field.

This unit develops knowledge and skills in natural resource economics built on previously gained economics training. The economics of dynamic natural systems is studied through application of advanced modelling approaches. Particular emphasis is given to the economic mechanisms for managing water and biological resources including property rights, water allocation and water markets. Key policy instruments (taxes, quotas, standards) are analysed. Institutional and policy aspects will also be considered via analysis of water policy reform in Australia and elsewhere.

This unit of study is concerned with the application of microeconomic principles to management decisions in agricultural production systems. It builds on the theoretical knowledge acquired in previous studies and introduces the methods of applied economic analysis through a range of topics including: production, cost and profit functions; methods for the measurement of productivity; optimisation in biological production systems; and production under risk. The unit introduces the linear programming technique to solve decision making problems encountered by agribusiness and natural resource firms and managers in public agencies.

Foundational concepts in welfare economics, such as economic efficiency, criteria for assessing social welfare improvements, and economic surplus measures, are analysed in detail and applied to project evaluation and policy assessment. Procedures of conducting a benefit-cost analysis are presented, and tools of non-market valuation for public goods and environmental assets are covered in detail. These techniques include both stated and revealed preference techniques, including contingent valuation, choice modeling, hedonic pricing and travel cost methods.

This unit of study is designed to provide an understanding of the underlying forces driving agricultural markets. It addresses price analysis and efficiency, including aspects of form, time and space in agricultural marketing; information and contracts; changing consumer concerns (food safety, ethical production); futures market and other risk sharing devices. Building on the application of microeconomic theory to both production and consumption in agricultural markets, its content is analytical. The unit also investigates some of the forces which prevent the efficient operation of world agricultural markets, including impediments to trade, imperfect markets for inputs and outputs and market power along the agricultural supply chain.

Agricultural production is typically risky, adding complexity to decision analysis and increasing need of risk consideration in agricultural policy design. This unit explores this theme, and has two related components: risk and risk management in agriculture, and issues of agricultural producer finance. These two components cover a broad range of topics that incorporate production risk and other sources of risk in agriculture.

This unit is designed to provide students with training in the professional skills required to practice agronomy. The unit principally builds on theoretical and applied knowledge gained in third year agronomy (AGRO3004). In this unit students will integrate their knowledge of plant physiology, soil science, experimental design, and biometry to address applied problems in agronomy, namely the issue of sustainability. Students will develop their ability to establish conclusions towards making recommendations for long term sustainability of crop and pasture systems. By implementing and managing a major field and/or glasshouse experiment(s) students will develop their research and inquiry skills. Team work is strongly encouraged in this unit and the integration and reporting of research findings will facilitate critical thinking and development of written communication skills. After completing this unit, students should be able to confidently design and manage a glasshouse/field experiment, and interpret and communicate their findings, by integrating knowledge from across disciplinary boundaries.

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the major physical and chemical processes that control the concentration and dispersion of chemical pollutants in natural and impacted environments. The course will demonstrate how to use contaminant data effectively and how to judge the quality of chemical data. This knowledge will be used to design and to assess environmental projects, and to judge the magnitude of impact by human activity on environments and the risk posed by contaminants to ecosystem functioning. The course aims to provide present and future managers employed in environmental professions with the skills to use data with confidence and to make management decisions knowing the risks inherent in variable data quality. A field trip will be undertaken early in the semester.

Lectures, practical work and field trip(s) covering advanced aspects of the theory, philosophy and practice of plant breeding. Included are extended discussions of screening techniques (in the field, glasshouse and laboratory), conservation and exploitation of diversity, disease resistance, tissue culture, plant cytogenetics of relevance to pre-breeding and breeding. Also considered are the role of biotechnology processes and products in plant breeding; genetic engineering and the use of molecular marker technologies. This course will use examples from the full range of crops; broad-acre cereals and legumes, pastures, turf and horticultural crops, both perennial and annual. The main base of the course may vary between the ATP and Camden campuses. Field trips (mainly to the IA Watson Grains Research Centre, Narrabri) will be used especially to examine trial procedures and field-based operations, and to interact with commercial plant breeding.

This unit introduces methods for mapping environmental signatures in coastal and marine systems, using both biogeochemical analysis and GIS technologies. Students will learn, theoretically and practically, how environmental data is collected using a range of different methodologies (field and computer based), and application of this data to understanding landscape processes and quantifying environmental change. Students will acquire skills in applying environmental mapping techniques to interpreting key Earth surface processes and understanding the substantial impacts that humans can have on these, in terms of both contamination and remediation.

This is a problem-based applied soil science unit addressing the physical, chemical and biological components of soil function. It is designed to allow students to identify soil-related problems in the real-world and by working in a group and with an end-user, to suggest short and long-term solutions to problems such as fertility, resilience, carbon management, structural decline, acidification, salinisation and contamination. Students will gain a focused knowledge of the key soil drivers to environmental problems and will have some understanding on the constraints surrounding potential solutions. By designing and administering strategies to tackle real-world soil issues, students will develop their research and inquiry skills and enhance their intellectual autonomy. By producing reports and seminars that enables understanding by an end-user, students will improve the breadth of their communication skills. This is a core unit for students majoring or specialising in soil science and an elective unit for those wishing to gain an understanding of environmental problem-solving. It utilises and reinforces soil-science knowledge gained in SOIL2003 and SOIL2004, as well as generic problem-solving skills gained during the degree program.

This unit of study gives an overview of basic spatial data models, and enables students to understand the use of data from a variety of sources within a geographical information system (GIS). The analysis of spatial data, and its manipulation to address questions appropriate to planning or locational applications, will be addressed, as will the development of thematic maps from diverse data layers.

Lectures, practical work and field trip(s) covering advanced aspects of the theory, philosophy and practice of plant breeding. Included are extended discussions of screening techniques (in the field, glasshouse and laboratory), conservation and exploitation of diversity, disease resistance, tissue culture, plant cytogenetics of relevance to pre-breeding and breeding. Also considered are the role of biotechnology processes and products in plant breeding; genetic engineering and the use of molecular marker technologies. This course will use examples from the full range of crops; broad-acre cereals and legumes, pastures, turf and horticultural crops, both perennial and annual. The main base of the course may vary between the ATP and Camden campuses. Field trips (mainly to the IA Watson Grains Research Centre, Narrabri) will be used especially to examine trial procedures and field-based operations, and to interact with commercial plant breeding.

This unit provides students with a scientific grounding in the sustainable production of safe and nutritious fruit, vegetables and mushrooms. The unit encompasses the fundamentals of production system options, resource management and marketing practices. Case studies will be used to exemplify important developments in horticultural production, supply and marketing chains. Students will examine multiple real world examples of horticulture to develop skills in systematic problem-solving in production and marketing. Combining relevant industry knowledge, critical analytical skills and a systems perspective will enable students to make valid, scientifically-informed decisions in horticulture and beyond. The unit is comprised of: lectures/workshops, practicals in production and post-harvest horticulture, and site visits to producers, research sites and industry bodies. The program includes a week-long field trip to major horticultural production regions to view operations and Q and A with owner/operators.

This unit examines the economic transformation of less-developed countries from microeconomic and macroeconomic perspectives. It covers applied topics such as education, health, nutrition, demographics, labour, agriculture and the private sector, focusing on how policies attempt to overcome market and institutional failures that are particularly acute in the developing world. Focus is given to applying theoretical and empirical tools necessary to conceptualise, analyse and interpret various issues in economic development. Applied examples from developing countries are used throughout the unit.

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the major physical and chemical processes that control the concentration and dispersion of chemical pollutants in natural and impacted environments. The course will demonstrate how to use contaminant data effectively and how to judge the quality of chemical data. This knowledge will be used to design and to assess environmental projects, and to judge the magnitude of impact by human activity on environments and the risk posed by contaminants to ecosystem functioning. The course aims to provide present and future managers employed in environmental professions with the skills to use data with confidence and to make management decisions knowing the risks inherent in variable data quality. A field trip will be undertaken early in the semester.

This unit examines the environment as a political and policy issue. Although relatively recent, the environment has become a full-fledged public policy issue exerting influence in local, national and international arenas. The unit will first focus on the specific features of the policy that influences the capability of contemporary societies to enhance the management of environmental resources and of public goods in general. Second, it discusses the development of environmental policy in Western countries, with a particular emphasis on the European Union. Third, a grid for the analysis of environmental policy will be presented, with a discussion of the main actors (political, institutional and socio-economic) involved in it and of the factors (interests and ideas) influencing their positions. Fourth, the unit briefly discusses environmental conflicts and consensual approaches used for tackling them.

This foundation unit provides an introduction to the essential concepts and frameworks in the domains of strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship. Each domain is presented in a block of three lectures supplemented with case-based tutorials. Topics covered include user and disruptive innovation, entrepreneurial opportunities and business models, value chain and ecosystem analysis. Theories and frameworks are further tested in the real-life business projects offered by the participating companies. The emphasis of the unit is made on understanding the complexity of the innovation process and learning how to navigate the business environment to maximise the value from innovation.

This unit of study introduces contemporary topics from Ecological Economics and Sustainability Analysis, such as metrics for measuring sustainability; planetary boundaries and other natural limits; comparisons between ecological and environmental economics; valuing the environment; intergenerational discounting; global inequality with a focus on the climate change debate; and links between theories of well-being, human behaviour, consumerism and environmental impact. This unit includes guest lecturers from industry and research and an excursion. The lectures for this unit include interactive activities and group-exercises on a range of concepts related to Ecological Economics. The unit sets the scene for the more detailed and specific units PHYS5032, PHYS5033, and PHYS5034.

This unit of study covers philosophy, techniques, applications and standards of Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA). It introduces methods from engineering (Process Analysis) and economics (Input-Output Analysis), and discusses current popular LCA tools. The unit places importance on practical relevance by including real-world case studies and business applications as well as global standards such as the GHG Protocol for accounting for scopes -1, -2 and -3 emissions and ISO standards. The unit of study will culminate with practical exercises using software tools to provide students with hands-on experience of preparing a comprehensive Life-Cycle Assessment of an application of their choice. Students will also benefit from enrolling in PHYS5033 for a sound understanding of input-output analysis as the basis of hybrid LCA methods.

The unit builds on previously acquired economics training and develops advanced understanding of the economics of minerals exploration, extraction and marketing and the economics of energy generation, distribution and use. The implications of mineral extraction and energy generation activities for natural resources and the environment are explored. The unit will foster in-depth knowledge of the markets for minerals and energy, their industry structure and business environment, including the role of markets for derivatives on minerals and energy commodities.

This unit examines the economic transformation of less-developed countries from microeconomic and macroeconomic perspectives. It covers applied topics such as education, health, nutrition, demographics, labour, agriculture and the private sector, focusing on how policies attempt to overcome market and institutional failures that are particularly acute in the developing world. Focus is given to applying theoretical and empirical tools necessary to conceptualise, analyse and interpret various issues in economic development. Applied examples from developing countries are used throughout the unit.

This unit of study examines the nature of inter-firm rivalry in industries with market power. It explores the various ways in which firms can increase their market power by: extracting more surplus from consumers, by colluding with rivals or by excluding entrants. The unit also analyses the international competitiveness of industries in the context of industry assistance and the prevalence of foreign multinationals. Competition policy is also discussed.

This unit of study introduces participants to the power of simulation modelling in understanding and predicting behaviour of natural systems. It covers fundamental concepts, logic, and techniques (including sensitivity analysis), and develops skills in application to environmental problems such as catchment management and population dynamics.

This unit introduces methods for mapping environmental signatures in coastal and marine systems, using both biogeochemical analysis and GIS technologies. Students will learn, theoretically and practically, how environmental data is collected using a range of different methodologies (field and computer based), and application of this data to understanding landscape processes and quantifying environmental change. Students will acquire skills in applying environmental mapping techniques to interpreting key Earth surface processes and understanding the substantial impacts that humans can have on these, in terms of both contamination and remediation.

This unit presumes no prior exposure to economics and aims, by the end of the unit, to bring a proficiency equivalent to that of students with an intermediate level microeconomics unit in an Honours degree program. Many economic principles developed in this unit are routinely used in several other units in the program. Microeconomics studies how economic agents make choices in a variety of environments. The unit covers theory and applications of the principles of consumer choice, of firm behaviour, and of strategic interaction among economic agents. Equipped with these theories of decision making, students can address a range of interesting and important questions. Examples are: What market strategy should a firm adopt with its competitors? How might one create a market to deal with externalities such as pollution? What are the implications of different kinds of taxes? What compensation scheme will provide the right incentives to work?

This unit of study will provide students with practical skills for carrying out environmental footprinting calculations: for individuals, companies, organisations or nations. In particular, this unit will provide a comprehensive introduction to input-output analysis for identifying impacts embodied in regional, national and global supply chains. This unit focuses on contemporary environmental applications such as emissions, energy-use, water, land, loss of animal & plant species; and also social applications such as employment, poverty and child labour. The unit first explores national and global economic and environmental accounting systems and their relationships to organisational accounting. Second, it presents cutting-edge techniques enabling the global analysis of environmental and social impacts of international trade. Third, it offers hands-on practical activities for mastering the input-output techniques conceived by Nobel Prize Laureate Wassily Leontief, and provides a step-by-step recipe for undertaking boundary-free environmental and social footprinting for sectors and organisations. Students will walk away from this unit equipped with useful skills needed to calculate footprints, and prepare sustainability reports for any organisation, city, region, or nation, using organisational data, economic input-output tables and environmental accounts. Students will also benefit from enrolling in PHYS5034 for a sound understanding of the role of input-output analysis within the field of Life-Cycle Assessment.

The aim of the unit is to introduce students to basic statistical concepts and methods for further studies. Particular attention will be paid to the development of methodologies related to statistical data analysis and Data Mining. A number of useful statistical models will be discussed and computer oriented estimation procedures will be developed. Smoothing and nonparametric concepts for the analysis of large data sets will also be discussed. Students will be exposed to the R computing language to handle all relevant computational aspects in the course.

This unit of study will introduce students to the concepts and multidisciplinary nature of sustainability, starting with the physical basis of climate change and its impact on the environment and human development. This will be followed by several case studies covering Energy, Health, Development and Environment. The case studies will be presented by industry professionals and will illustrate sustainability issues currently before Australia- their origins, impacts and industry responses. The unit of study will provide students with a holistic systems lens through which to view their learning throughout the Masters program. This will underpin understanding of the integrated nature of sustainability and facilitate the challenging of silo-based assumptions- their own and those of others. The intention is to ground understanding of complex systems in the real world through the use of case studies that will demonstrate organisational change and problem solving in a world with competing values and conflicting views of what it means to live sustainably. Students completing the unit of study will have a "sustainability tool kit" to apply to sustainability issues in their professional and community activities.

This unit of study builds on the major research project proposed in AFNR5904. Working with their academic advisor students will execute their research strategy that provides data and subsequent data analysis towards solving the research question. The results and analysis will be presented in a format suitable for submission as a research paper to a relevant journal. Students will build their research skills, develop a strong analytical capacity, demonstrate a sound grasp of the topic, and ability to interpret results in a broad framework. Students will demonstrate their ability to draw reliable conclusions and identify future areas of research. Students will continue to develop their skills in solving research problems and enhance their intellectual and personal autonomy by means of managing a research program. Students will improve their communication skills through presentation of the research paper.

This unit of study provides the students with the opportunity to present the research findings of their major research project using several communication media appropriate for different audiences, for example, external stakeholders and /or popular media. Using poster and oral presentations students will communicate their research to the academic community in a professional conference environment. Students will also be required to attend the Faculty's seminar program that is relevant to their research topic. Students will build on their skills to use several modes of communication to demonstrate their ability to produce high quality results, draw reliable conclusions and identify future areas of research.

This aims to develop a student's ability to review the literature with the view of developing a major research project in an area of specialization. The student will work with an academic advisor on a mutually agreed topic for research to be undertaken and the subsequent writing of a literature review. The literature review will advance the student's ability to identify existing knowledge, define research problems, demonstrate a sound grasp for presenting a research question, and begin to define a research strategy. Students will develop their research and inquiry skills through sourcing a wide range of literature and improve their written communication skills.

This unit of study aims to develop a student's ability to write a detailed research proposal and develop a strategy combined with the appropriate methodology to execute their research. Working with their academic advisor students will prepare a proposal describing; the background and aims, its significance and innovation, the justification of the methodology, the national benefit, and considerations of the required budget and project timeline. This unit will enable students to develop their ability to define a research project to be managed within a suitable research framework. Students will develop their skills in solving research problems and enhance their intellectual and personal autonomy through managing a research program.