Entry requirements

60 credits

Learning outcomes

The course is intended to give a good understanding of how climate change can influence species and ecosystems and how ecosystem processes influence the climate. On completion of the course, students should be able to:

• describe the history of climate change and current climate scenarios
• understand how greenhouse gases work
• understand how organisms react physiologically to environmental factors that vary with climate, e.g. temperature and water balance
• understand how the ecology and distribution of organisms are controlled by climate and how this will be influenced by future climate changes
• explain different biological processes behind the production of greenhouse gases, and their inbinding and decomposition, how greenhouse gas turnover and carbon storage work in different ecosystems and how these processes are expected to be influenced by future climate changes
• explain the possible effects on soil and forestry and on the spread and occurrence of pests and diseases
• objectively discuss measures to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

Content

Climate: Historical emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, future scenarios, IPCC and its work.

The effect of greenhouse gases: The presence of different gases in the atmosphere, and their effect in different time perspectives; climate forcing

Organisms' responses: Physiology, niches, distribution and dispersal.

Greenhouse gas turnover in ecosystems: Photosynthesis, respiration, turnover of organic material, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.

Effects on agriculture and forestry and on distribution and occurrence of pests and diseases.

Energy production: Mainly discussion of the biological background and the effects of using e.g. biofuels and peat.

Instruction

The teaching consists of lectures that introduce the necessary biological background knowledge, seminars where current academic papers and debate articles are discussed and an individual project.

Assessment

Theoretical knowledge is tested in a written examination (3 credits). Active participation in seminars is compulsory (4 credits). The individual project (3 credits) is presented in a short report and in a seminar.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the university's disability coordinator.