FBE 607 Ecosystem Dynamics and Climate

Learning outcomes:

At the end of the course student should be able to:-

  1. Advance knowledge and understanding on ecosystem dynamics at regional to global scale as influenced by climate change.
  2. Link changes in ecosystem process and functions to different environmental factors.
  3. Predict the out comes of climate change impacts on ecosystems and mitigation measures.
  4. Assess and analyse different global changes scenarios and their influence on various organisms and ecosystems.
  5. Assess the impact of different global change scenarios on the complexity and functioning of ecosystems.

Course Content

The theory of global change and influence of climate change on different ecological communities and ecosystems. Ecosystem process and drivers of change, main processes determining global to regional ecosystems dynamics, climate change as a driver of ecosystem change, other drivers of ecosystem change, climate system sensitivity and feedbacks, land – ocean – sea ice – atmosphere interactions, effects of climate change on different ecosystems and their components, green house gas effects and concepts of carbon emissions and global warming, carbon cycle carbon balance and the missing sink, mitigation of climate change impacts on ecosystem services, market based approaches and measures to reduce green house gas emissions, climate change and forestry – the REDD production chain.

Required Reading

  1. Cox C.B. and Moore P.D. 2005. Biogeography: An ecological and evolutionary approach. Blackwell publishing, Malden, USA. 428 pp.
  1. Bush M.B. 2000. Ecology of Changing Planet 2nd edition. Upper Saddle River New Jersey, 498 pp

Recommended Reading

  1. Callaway R.M, Sala A., Crone E., Maron J. 2003. Plant ecology textbooks: a new contender. Botanical Society of America Inc.168 pp
  1. Schulze E.D., Harrison S., Heimann M, Holland E., Lloyd, J. 2001. Global Biogeochemical Cycles in the Climate Systems. Academic Press 350 pp