814.550 (18W) An Introduction to Land System Science

Wintersemester 2018/19

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First course session
05.10.2018 10:00 - 11:30 Schottenfeldgasse 29, SR 3b Off Campus
... no further dates known

Overview

Lecturer
Course title german An Introduction to Land System Science
Type Lecture - Seminar (continuous assessment course )
Hours per Week 2.0
ECTS credits 4.0
Registrations 13 (20 max.)
Organisational unit
Language of instruction no language of instruction was specified
Course begins on 05.10.2018
eLearning Go to Moodle course

Time and place

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Course Information

Intended learning outcomes

To create an overview and profound knowledge on various approaches and central themes of Land System Science, with a particular focus on the inter- und transdisciplinary challenges related to this new field of research. 

Students will learn to critically read and reflect on primary literature, carry out bibliographical research, and develop an ability to synthesize complex contexts and interrelationships.


Teaching methodology including the use of eLearning tools

The course is a combination of lecture and seminar and consists of two blocks. Students will read seminal, topic-specific papers and prepare questions. Introductory lectures aim at bringing the cohort of students up to speed on basic concepts and will be followed by topic-specific presentations by students, followed by group work. Students will prepare presentations on basis of literature.

Course content

Land use, i.e. the sum of activities aimed at enhancing ecosystem services, is essential for human well-being, providing food, feed and fuel. At the same time, land use is a pervasive driver of global environmental change, such as biodiversity loss, climate change or land degradation. In the light of population growth, advancing the knowledge base on drivers and impacts of land use as well as to gain insights into terms and conditions of sustainable land use is crucial. The course will bring students to a common understanding of land system change, its major components and their individual dynamics, it underlying drivers as well an socio-ecological impacts. It will elaborate on different methods and approaches to study and analyse land systems across spatio-temporal scales.


Topics:

Biomass: Stocks (Standing crop) and flows (NPP);

Land use and climate change;

Land degradation;

Food security;

Teleconnections in the global and system;

Land use indicators;

Land use and biodiversity;

Datasets: Remote sensing, census, models;

Models: Earth system models, Dynamic vegetation models, Land use models;

Land use, land use intensity, land cover change;

Ecosystem services

Examination information

Im Fall von online durchgeführten Prüfungen sind die Standards zu beachten, die die technischen Geräte der Studierenden erfüllen müssen, um an diesen Prüfungen teilnehmen zu können.

Examination methodology

Active collaboration, Presentation, Reading of papers

Examination topic(s)

Course content

Assessment criteria / Standards of assessment for examinations

Active collaboration, Presentation, Reading of papers

Grading scheme

Grade / Grade grading scheme

Position in the curriculum

  • Master's degree programme Social and Human Ecology (SKZ: 919, Version: 14W.1)
    • Subject: GWF3 Landnutzung und Umweltwandel (Compulsory elective)
      • GWF3 Vertiefung ( 0.0h VO, SE, EX, KU, SX / 14.0 ECTS)
        • 814.550 An Introduction to Land System Science (2.0h VS / 4.0 ECTS)

Equivalent courses for counting the examination attempts

This course is not assigned to a sequence of equivalent courses