Ecological systems

Aim

After completing the course, the students are expected to be able to:

• Apply a relevant theoretical framework to analyse ecological systems and identify relevant biological interactions
• Identify ecosystem services and analyse how human activities impact those services
• Find and use data from existing environmental monitoring programmes, and use selected tools for system analysis, e.g. mass flow calculations
• Use some selected sampling methods applicable to streams and brooks.
• Describe Swedish and global environmental and sustainability goals related to water
• Critically examine environmental impact assessments (EIA) based on knowledge about the formal demands on an EIA, and theoretically plan for an environmental assessment process.
• Write reports and orally present and discuss results in a scientific manner.

Content

The course brings up the ecological systems concept, how systems thinking can be used in ecology and the dynamics within and between ecosystems. It also focuses on how human activities impact ecological systems and the ecosystem services they deliver. The course also includes methodological training, such as selected methods for field sampling and how to use monitoring data and other tools to study changes in ecological systems. Finally, the course treats good practices regarding the content of environmental impact assessments, how to plan for an environmental assessment procedure and how a systems thinking can be used in this.