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London School of
Economics and Political Science (LSE)
156 Tropical land
management
Prerequisites
If taken as part of a
BSc degree 149 Biogeography or 152 Hydrology or 150 Geomorphological
processes
Aims and objectives
To introduce
students to the factors that underlie the nature and development of
tropical soils.
To show students how these soils can be used sustainably.
To enable students to examine the consequences of disturbing the
natural environment (which undermines sustainability).
To enable students to classify tropical land resources as to their
potential for agricultural land use.
To indicate the likely consequences for tropical agriculture of
environmental change as predicted by global warming.
Learning outcomes
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
understand the nature of tropical weathering and soil formation
assess the factors (both natural and human-induced) which may cause
tropical soils to degrade
apply this knowledge to analysing whether a particular land use will
be sustainable or not
understand the potential consequences of changing environmental
factors for tropical agriculture.
Syllabus
The unit focuses on the use and management of the land resource in the
semi-arid, the seasonal wet-dry and the humid tropics. In particular the
unit covers:
Tropical weathering:
types and products of tropical weathering.
Tropical soils:
common soil types of the humid, wet-dry and semi-arid
tropics, importance of soil properties (texture, structure,
permeability) under agriculture.
Effects of deforestation on humid tropical soil: hydrological change,
nutrient depletion, erosion.
Semi-arid soils
and land use problems: water management, irrigation and salinisation, erosion.
Desertification: causes, effects on agriculture, management options.
Geomorphology and tropical land management:
slope failure, soil erosion,
management of geomorphological hazard (soil and water conservation).
Land degradation:
causes (physical and human), consequences for
livelihoods, assessment and monitoring, management.
Land classification and land capability:
planning for effective tropical
land management, importance of growing period, agro-ecological zones.
Tropical land management and environmental change:
effects of
temperature increases on crop viability, changes in rainfall amounts and
annual pattern, effect of changing CO2 on plant viability, Caribbean
case studies.
Response to changing climates:
potential for adaptation of tropical
farming systems, importance of indigenous knowledge, intervention and
policy issues.
Assessment
This unit is assessed by a 3 hour written examination.
Essential reading
Johnson, D. and L.A. Lewis Land Degradation: Creation and Destruction.
(Lanham,MD: Rowman & Littlefield; Oxford: Blackwell, 2006) second
edition
[ISBN10: 0742519481; ISBN13: 9780742519480].
Kellman, M. and R. Tackaberry Tropical Environments: the Functioning and
Management of Tropical Ecosystems. (London: Routledge, 1997) [ISBN
0415116090].
Webster, C.C. & P.N. Wilson Agriculture in the Tropics (Oxford:
Blackwell, 1998)
[ISBN: 9780632040544; ISBN10: 0632040548]
All information in this document is subject to confirmation in the
2008-09 Programme Regulations for degrees and diplomas in Economics,
Management, Finance and the Social Sciences that are reviewed annually.
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