Ecosystem Dynamics and Function

Ecosystem Dynamics and Function

Semester 1, 2017/18

Thursdays 0900-1300

Training and Skills room, ECCI, Infirmary St. EH1 1LZ.

Course organiser: Dr Caroline Lehmann

email: phone: 0131 650 6025

Office hours: Mondays 2 – 5pm, Room 211, Crew Building, Kings Buildings

Course Secretary: Susie Crocker

Office: Room 322, Grant Institute, King’s Buildings Campus

email: phone: 0131 651 7126

Teaching staff: Drs Caroline Lehmann (CL) and Casey Ryan (CR)

Location

1st meeting: 0900 Sept 21nd. Training and Skills room, ECCI

Most sessions will be held at ECCI, 09:00-13:00 on Thursdays. In Week 3 we will be in the field and will meet on the steps of the Crew Building, King’s Buildings campus. In all other weeks we will start in ECCI, but then often we will move to a computer lab in 1.26 Geography Building, Drummond Street

Summary

We all depend on a vast range of services provided by ecosystems, from food and medicines to a stable climate, clean water and storm protection. This course introduces the ecosystem ecology underlying these services, in particular looking at how ecosystems are structured and how they function. The course has a practical ethos and involves fieldwork and analysis of real data from around the globe. It is suitable for students with a wide range of backgrounds, but you will need to quickly develop competence in managing data with Excel. The course looks at the dynamic nature of ecosystems, which often behave as complex systems. Different ways of representing and modelling such systems are explored through practical exercises and case studies. The course provides students with the core ecosystem science needed for Ecosystem Valuation and Management in semester 2.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this course the student will be able to:

1. understand the fundamental principles of ecosystem ecology, including how ecosystem structure relates to function, and what drives the dynamics of ecosystems.
2. measure and model ecosystem structure and function, manage data, and analyse large ecological data sets.
3. appreciate the diversity of ecosystem functions and expressions across different time, space and biome scales, and illustrate them through case studies.

4.  appreciate how ecosystems respond to, and feedback on, global change drivers including climate change, land use change, and biodiversity loss.

Course Description

W1 / Sep-21 / Overview of the Ecosystem Concept and Global Change
In week one we explore the concept of an ecosystem and the intellectual foundations of ecosystem science. Examples of the role that ecosystems play in the earth system and in supporting human wellbeing are examined. The role of ecosystems in global change and the idea of the Anthropocene is also presented. / CL +CR
W2 / Sep-28 / Ecosystems and the global carbon cycle
The role of marine and terrestrial ecosystems in the global carbon cycle is analysed. We look at how the structure and function of ecosystems determines how much carbon is stored in different parts of the biosphere and how the fluxes between different components are being altered by global change drivers.
•Lab practical: Carbon fluxes / CR
W3 / Oct-05 / Meet at Crew building, KB
Fieldwork practical: the structure of forests
We will visit the nearby Braidburn to conduct forest ecosystem measurements, including tree inventories and soil sampling. Students will collect a data set relating to forest structure and learn how to summarise the data in Excel. / CL
W4 / Oct-12 / Nutrient cycles
Humans have caused unprecedented change to the nitrogen cycle, doubling the amount of available nitrogen on the planet. This has allowed us to feed a rapidly growing population, but has led to adverse effects on the environment and human health. Managing the nitrogen cycle is complex and we explore the issues from the perspectives of different groups.
•Lab practical: N cycling simulator to manage nutrients for stakeholders / CL
W5 / Oct-19 / Biodiversity: what is it and how do we measure it?
We look at how the diversity of life varies from the small-scale to the global (biogeography) and how this can be explained, measured and analysed. The concept of biodiversity is widely used and with many meanings and we will discuss ways of utilising the concept.
•Lab practical: analysing diversity and vegetation structure / CL
W6 / Oct-26 / Biodiversity & ecosystem function
Since 1992, researchers have developed increasingly sophisticated ways to understand how biodiversity is linked to the functioning of ecosystems. We look at the empirical data and the theory of how diversity affects ecosystem productivity and resilience, and how this affects ecosystem services.
•Lab practical: More on data analysis – including analysis of data from week 3. / CL
W7 / Nov-02 / Novel ecosystems and conservation
Most (all?) ecosystems are influenced by humans. Some ecologists claim that “novel” ecosystems are the new reality, and should be a target for research and management in their own right. Others see this as a retreat from the goals of conservation and restoration ecology. We will examine the science behind both claims, and debate the implications for ecosystem ecology.
• Presentation skills: What makes a good presentation, and how to avoid death by PowerPoint? / CR
W8 / Nov-09 / Student presentations on ecosystem structure
Students will present their group work on the structure and diversity of forest ecosystems from around the globe (e.g. Brazil, Mozambique, Tanzania, USA, Canada and Scotland). This will be followed by a feedback session to allow you to identify your strengths and areas for improvement for assignment 2 – the individual report. / CL
W9 / Nov-16 / Ecosystems as dynamic systems
Here we look at ways of representing the complexity of ecosystems and approaches to understanding feedbacks, non-linearity and stable states. We analyse ecosystems stocks and flows by drawing Forrester diagrams / CR
W10 / Nov-23 / Modelling global (eco)systems: an example of the global carbon cycle
Putting together our knowledge of the carbon cycle and system modelling we explore the impacts of different climate mitigation techniques. / CR
W11 / Nov-30 / Overview, feedback and exam preparation
We will draw together the threads of the course and look at the challenges facing ecosystem science. Students can reflect on the course and provide feedback. / CL

Assessment Details

A1 / 30% / 3-page policy brief on a key issue of ecosystem functioning / Due Monday W7 – Oct 30th 12:00. E-submission only. No hard copy.
A2 / 40% / Ecosystem structure practical including a group presentation (with formative feedback) and individual report (40%) / Presentations in Week 8, individual write ups due W11 – Nov 27th 12:00 E-submission only.
Exam / 30% / Examination / Scheduled for the period 10th – 21st December 2017

Fieldwork

For week 3 we will be outside whatever the weather. You will need to bring good shoes or walking boots, very warm clothes and a waterproof coat and trousers. If you don’t have waterproof gloves, bring a spare pair of normal gloves (or buy some washing up gloves). Every year a few people don’t bring enough clothes and get cold. The average weather for this time of year is between 2 and 10°C with a 30% chance of rain. You will also need to bring writing materials. Note that pencil is preferable, as it does not run in the rain. Full details of the fieldwork will be given in the week before.

Reading List

Reading lists will be provided for each week on Learn.

The following texts are used throughout the course:

1.  Chapin, Matson and Vitousek (2011) Principles of terrestrial ecosystem ecology. 2nd edition. Springer. This is available as an e-book from the library catalogue. There are also hard copies in the library.

2.  Haefner, J. (2005). Modeling Biological Systems: Principles and Applications. 2nd edition. Springer. This is available as an e-book from the library catalogue. There are also hard copies in the library.

The best prep you can do for this course is to read and work on the review questions in chapters 1, 2, 3, 14 and 15 of Chapin et al and chapters 1-3 of Haefner.

You should also make sure you are comfortable plotting graphs in Excel, organizing data sets and writing equations. This includes filtering lists and using pivot tables. The University provides training and online support for Excel at:

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/information-services/help-consultancy/is-skills/learning-resources/spreadsheets-data

Also see: http://www.docs.is.ed.ac.uk/skills/documents/3606/3606.pdf

If you are already comfortable with Excel, then I suggest that you learn how to use the free, open source data analysis and statistics package called ‘R’. The best way to do this is to get hold of:

Gardener, M (2012). Statistics for Ecologists Using R and Excel. Pelagic Publishing Ltd. [e-book in library]

Other literature which gives a flavour of the course content includes:

3.  Steffen, W., J. Grinevald, P. Crutzen and J. McNeill (2011). "The Anthropocene: conceptual and historical perspectives." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A. 369(1938): 842-867.

4.  Curtis, A (2011). The Use and Abuse of Vegetational Concepts. Part 2 in the BBC TV documentary series All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace. Available online.

5.  Gruber N, Galloway JN (2008) An Earth-system perspective of the global nitrogen cycle. Nature 451: 293-296

6.  Hooper, D.U. et. al. (2005) Effect of Biodiversity on Ecosystem Functioning: A Consensus of Current Knowledge. Ecological Monographs, 75 (1), 2005, pp 3 - 35.

7.  Post, ERO et al (1999). Ecosystem consequences of wolf behavioural response to climate. Nature 401(6756): 905-907.

8.  Biggs, R., Carpenter, S.R., Brock, W.A. (2009) Turning back from the brink: Detecting an impending regime shift in time to avert it. PNAS vol 106, no.3, 826-831.

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