Water in Sustainable Landscape Transformation
- Faculty
Faculty of Agricultural Science and Landscape Architecture
- Version
Version 1 of 15.07.2025.
- Module identifier
44M0584
- Module level
Master
- Language of instruction
English
- ECTS credit points and grading
5.0
- Module frequency
only summer term
- Duration
1 semester
- Brief description
Water forms landscapes and is essential for life on earth as well as for the type of land use. Today, groundwater and surface water bodies with their catchments, but also terrestrial land, are strongly affected by climate change and anthopogenic changes of hydrological regimes. The course starts with foundations and principles of hydrology and the role of water in natural, rural and urban landscapes. It focuses on possibilities and strategies of climate change adaptation concerning water management in different types of landscapes and for different types of land use.
- Teaching and learning outcomes
- Hydrological cycle and principles of hydrology
- Groundwater, surface waters and catchments in natural, rural and urban landscapes
- Effects of climate change on water availability and water cycle
- Sustainable landscape transformation and land-use adaptation
- Climate change adaptation in agricultural and in urban landscapes
- Nature-based solutions
- Overall workload
The total workload for the module is 150 hours (see also "ECTS credit points and grading").
- Teaching and learning methods
Lecturer based learning Workload hours Type of teaching Media implementation Concretization 10 Lecture - 4 Excursion - 16 Seminar - Lecturer independent learning Workload hours Type of teaching Media implementation Concretization 30 Study of literature - 30 Preparation/follow-up for course work - 30 Creation of examinations - 30 Presentation preparation -
- Graded examination
- Homework / Assignment or
- Oral presentation, with written elaboration or
- oral exam
- Remark on the assessment methods
The standard form of examination is a term paper. Any deviation from this will be announced within the first four weeks of the module.
- Exam duration and scope
term paper: ca. 10-15 pages
- Recommended prior knowledge
Basic knowledge about hydrology and the role of water in landscapes.
- Knowledge Broadening
Students, who have completed the module successfully, know about the role of water and climate-change effects in different types of landscapes. They understand hydrological processes relevant for land-use transformation and the sustainable use of water.
- Knowledge deepening
Students have knowledge about groundwater, surface waters and catchments in natural, rural and urban landscapes. They understand and are able to evaluate effects of climate change on water availability and water cycle. They know strategies for sustainable landscape transformation and land-use adaptation.
- Knowledge Understanding
The students are able to explain different strategies for the sustainable management of groundwater and surface water bodies and to reflect them critically taking into account land-use effects. They are able to compare effects of different measures of water management on ecosystem components and processes.
- Application and Transfer
Students can use their knowledge to analyse and evaluate the current water management in project areas and to develop solutions for climate-change induced problems concerning the sustainable development of rural and/or urban landscapes.
- Academic Innovation
Students are able to draw their own innovative scientific conclusions based on information from the actual scientific literature and own findings.
- Communication and Cooperation
Students are able to communicate and to cooperate both, within the scientific community and with stakeholders from water management practice.
- Academic Self-Conception / Professionalism
Students who have finished this course successfully have learned to act professionally within the field of water ressource management. They reflect their actions based on their methodological, theoretical and practical knowledge and competences about sustainable landscape transformation.
- Literature
Brutsaert W. (2023) Hydrology: An Introduction. 2nd. Ed. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Davie T. & Quinn N.W. (2019): Fundamentals of Hydrology (Routledge Fundamentals of Physical Geography), 3rd Ed. Routledge, Boca Raton.
FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2022): The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture – Systems at breaking point. Main report. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb9910en
France R. L., ed. (2020): Handbook of Water Sensitive Planning and Design (Intergrative Studies in Water Management and Land Development). 2nd. Ed. Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton.
- Applicability in study programs
- Land Use Transformation
- Land Use Transformation M.Sc. (01.03.2026)
- Person responsible for the module
- Kiehl, Kathrin
- Teachers
- Wertebach, Tim-Martin
- Further lecturer(s)
N.N. Prof. Blau-Graue Infrastruktur