Modules

Winter semester 2024-2025

Our chair coordinates and delivers five modules . See descriptions below. Please register via TUM online, and contact the chair (office.lsys@tum.de) if you need additional information.

Livestock Production & Global Grasslands (LS10021)

This module (5 credits) aims to give students skills to:

• Identify and understand key issues affecting livestock production and grasslands;
• Understand the economic and societal issues constraining the adoption of environmentally sustainable livestock production;
• Discuss alternative scenarios and solutions for key environmental problems associated with livestock;
• Integrate theory, data and metrics to evaluate livestock systems performance. 

The module is delivered as lectures with excercises, and practical sessions where students obtain skills to manipulate data, and to discuss in groups about theoretical and practical evidence on livestock and grassland science. The examination includes a report and a presentation, where students independently apply theory and practical skills acquired in a qunatitative case study of their choice, applying LCA to livestock systems. 

Livestock-plant-soil Interactions & Nutrient cycling (LS10032)

This module (10 credits) is designed to develop laboratory and field experimentation skills, and students should be able to:

• Define a researchable topic applying a pragmatic experimental research methodology specific to livestock-based agricultural systems,
• Conduct experiments compently in the field and/or the lab using specialised equipment, and applying rigorous scientific methods,
• Integrate theory, research data and analyses to test hypotheses relevant to livestock systems,
• Communicate effectively research findings in formats appropriate for an academic audience. 

The module requires 300 hours of rather independent and dedicated work, for example 6-8 weeks of intense lab and/or field experimentation, data analysis and reflection. The results are presented to receive feedback and a report of 5000 words in graded to reinforce the learning.  

Please contact prof. Mariana Rufino, email: mariana.rufino(at)tum.de to discuss potential projects for the ws24-25. A list of tentative projects can be found here.

Environment, Agriculture & Food (LS10016)

This module (5 credits) aims to build the theoretical and practical skills for students to 

• Identify key environmental issues arising from agricultural production.
• Understand the economic and societal issues constraining the adoption of environmentally sustainable agriculture;
• Integrate theory, data and metrics to evaluate agricultural and food systems.
• Discuss solutions for environmental problems associated with agriculture and food;

The module is delivered as lectures with excercises, and practical sessions where students gets hand on assigments to manipulate data. The examination includes a report and a presentation, where students independently apply theory and practical skills acquired in a case study developed on their own. 

Research Project in Agrosystems (WZ0031)

In this practical module, students work rather independently (240 hours, 6+2 credits) to be introduced to the theory and principles of the research in Agrosystems. The project prepares students for acquiring skills to analyse complex datasets required to answer research questions relevant to livestock systems. The tasks include conducting a literature review that assists with theoretical framing, problem definition, and planning. This knowledge is then used to apply theory in the practical course, aiming to to develop largely independently a research topic. Finally, the students are expected to assess the overall process and communicate findings, gaps and shortcoming encountered during the implementation of the project. The examination is a report that describes the steps and findings obtained in the research project implemented.

Please contact prof. Mariana Rufino, email: mariana.rufino(at)tum.de to discuss potential projects for the ws24-25. A list of tentative projects can be found here.

Data science for agricultural systems (LS10039)

The Data Science for Agricultural Systems module (5 credits) focuses on theoretical and practical aspects of data science in the context of agricultural and livestock systems, particularly environmental and productivity analyses. Emphasis is on applied, analytic, and exploratory aspects of data science; underlying statistical concepts are only briefly summarized. Students will learn and apply data science concepts using sample datasets of field and survey experiments, demonstrating understanding through a project report conducted in R and (optionally) QGIS. 

Please contact dr James Hawkins, email: james.hawkins(at)tum.de for details about this module.

 

BSc and MSc theses topics

The chair welcome students to develop thesis projects in the following areas:

1. Restoration of degraded tropical grassland ecosystems.

2. Reducing the carbon footprint of dairy through landscape management with trees.

3. The future of dairy in Alpine grassland ecosystems.

4. Grazing, carbon and biodiversity in the Alps.

5. The carbon balance of the Argentinean Pampas' grasslands.

6. Use of digital technology to increase the resilience of livestock systems.

7. Modelling land use transitions in East Africa and the impact of livestock.

8. Harnessing plant diversity to restore degraded grasslands.