Module Descriptors
PLANT ID SKILLS FOR COUNTRYSIDE MANAGERS
BIOL60474
Key Facts
Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Sciences
Level 6
15 credits
Contact
Leader: Phil Ridley
Email: p.ridley@nsc.ac.uk
Hours of Study
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities: 21
Independent Study Hours: 129
Total Learning Hours: 150
Assessment
  • TEST weighted at 50%
  • ASSIGNMENT weighted at 50%
Module Details
Module Special Admissions Requirements
None
Module Texts
Exact texts depend on which taxa are studied. Relevant texts could include Freshwater Biological Association keys, the Royal Entomological Society keys, and the Symposia of the British Fauna.
Module Additional Assessment Details
- A plant ID test weighted at 50% duration 2 hours (LO 1,2)
- A NVC Assessment on a habitat selected by the module tutor (LO 3)

Formative assessment will be by observation of student progress whilst identifying species.
Module Learning Strategies
There are 21 hours of tutor directed identification sessions. These will be spread over 7 weeks at 3 hours per week.

129 hours of independent study devoted to collecting and practising for assessments
Module Indicative Content
To be able to effectively arrive at accurate management decisions in the countryside management industry it is essential to be able to identify species with a high level of accuracy. This will be undertaken by a combination of classroom and field-based identification sessions. Specimens could be native, naturalised or alien but will be of significance to countryside management. The identification skills developed will then be applied via students carrying out a National Vegetation Classification (NVC) assessment of a habitat.


Module Resources
Provision of relevant keys, guides sampling and identification equipment (microscopes etc)