Applied Ecosystem Ecology

About the course

This course uses catchment areas as natural units in order to understand how ecosystems on land and in water are connected, and how human activities affect ecosystems. Based on knowledge of the structure and function of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, as well as of the movement of water through the landscape, you will learn how to measure and evaluate different kinds of anthropogenic disturbances. Thereby, this course gives knowledge on how ecosystem services can be used in a sustainable and balanced way.

The course has a strong applied side, because it understands disturbances to ecosystems by humans through the use of catchment areas, just like water management in the EU and many other parts of the world. A case study of a catchment close to Uppsala includes both practical work in the field and lab, as well as evaluation of both anthropogenic disturbances and nature values.

The course also contains education in geographic information systems (GIS) integrated into the course content. GIS is a widely used tool in natural resource management, and the course also contains an individual GIS project in close collaboration with active researchers, which gives you deepened GIS skills. Towards the end of the course, different catchments are evaluated to identify suitable areas for protection within the European Natura 2000 network.