GV3TRC: Tropical Rainforests, Climate and Lost Civilisations

Module code: GV3TRC

Module provider: Geography and Environmental Science; School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science

Credits: 20

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Professor Frank Mayle, email: f.mayle@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module aims to unravel the long-term (multi-millennial scale) history of tropical forests and human-environment interactions using a range of complimentary approaches.  This inter-disciplinary perspective integrates physical and human geography, ecology, and archaeology.  The module focuses largely on tropical South America (in particular, Amazonia) and focuses on several key questions: 1) What have been the interrelationships between climate change, human land use, and tropical forest ecosystems through the Holocene, i.e. the last ca. 12,000 years?  2) How was Amazonia transformed from a pristine wilderness into a domesticated landscape?  3) How did ancient human societies achieve long-term environmental and socio-economic sustainability, and why did they eventually collapse?  4) What are the implications of this historical perspective for today’s global challenges of sustainable living and tropical forest conservation against the backdrop of global warming?

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Gain an in-depth understanding of the underlying principles, methods, and applications of different techniques commonly employed in tropical palaeoecology; in particular, tropical pollen identification and interpretation of fossil pollen diagrams – via a series of microscope-based practical classes
2. Develop a critical understanding of the contribution that palaeoecological data can make toward tropical plant ecology, impacts of past climate change, past human-environment interactions (in particular, pre-Columbian land use in Amazonia), and conservation policy
3. Have an in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of key published literature in tropical palaeoecology, palaeoclimatology and archaeology
4. Have a comprehensive understanding of the relative strengths, limitations, and potential of different types of palaeovegetation proxy data – pollen, isotopes, phytoliths, charcoal etc
5. Understand the relevance of millennial-Quaternary-scale palaeoenvironmental time series for addressing the major challenges and threats faced by tropical ecosystems and their inhabitants today

Module content

Lecture content includes: the principles and applications of key palaeoecological techniques used for reconstructing the long-term (millennial-Holocene scale) histories of terrestrial tropical ecosystems (tropical forests and savannas), drawing upon case studies from the tropical Americas; the implications of these palaeovegetation reconstructions for understanding the synergistic relationships and interactions between tropical ecosystems, climate, fire, and human societies over millennial-Holocene time scales; relevance of tropical palaeoecology for conservation policy in the context of the twin threats of global warming and deforestation.

The coursework essay will focus on the interpretation of a fossil pollen dataset from Amazonia – to reconstruct the millennial-scale history of tropical forest ecosystems and the underlying reasons for these ecosystem changes in terms of climate change.

Temporal scales range from millennial to Holocene and late Quaternary.  Spatial scales will range from local to regional and continental.  Although the geographic focus is largely tropical South America, case studies are also drawn from Central America, and the issues and topics addressed throughout the module are of global relevance – in terms of sustainability, resilience, biodiversity, and human-environment relationships.     

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module comprises 14 lectures (each lasting 1 hour) and 9 hours of microscopy-based practical work (3 sessions, each lasting 3 hours).  In addition to the classroom and laboratory based teaching, the students will attend a guided one-day field trip to Kew Gardens to familiarise themselves with tropical plant species (8 hours).

Study hours

At least 31 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Feedback on microscopy-based pollen identification skills.

Reassessment

Additional costs