The students will be able to

• describe the landscapes and ecosystems of the world
• explain the main ecological factors for plant growth and the functionality of ecosystems and associate these with corresponding species communities
• describe the ecological characteristics of the 9 global zonobioms and their main vegetation types
• recognize the ecological functions of different ecosystem and their role for ecosystem services
• explain the specific interrelation between climate and ecosystems with particular focus on adaptation and mitigation measures

No data available

Terrestrial ecosystems are basically built up by their vegetation. To understand terrestrial biodiversity, it is inherent to understand the basic ecological drivers and characteristics of vegetation types as well as the importance of freshwater ecosystems worldwide.
The course will cover the following topics:

• Introduction into plant ecology
  • Characteristics of the abiotic environment
  • Physiology, structure, life forms, strategies of plant growth
  • Plant communities
  • Ecosystems
• Introduction to freshwater ecology
  • Characteristic of lentic and lotic ecosystems
  • Species communities and their function
  • Overview of ecosystem services and anthropogenic impact
• Climatic and edaphic influence on the main global vegetation patterns
• Characteristics of the 9 global zonobiomes according to Walter & Breckle
  • Zonobiome of the evergreen tropical rain forest
  • Zonobiome of semi-evergreen forests and savannas
  • Zonobiome of hot deserts
  • Zonobiome of sclerophyllic woodlands
  • Zonobiome of laurel forests
  • Zonobiome of deciduous forests
  • Zonobiome of steppes and cold deserts
  • Zonobiome of the boreal coniferous forests / taiga
  • Zonobiome of the tundra

Breckle S.W.: Walter's Vegetation of the Earth. The Ecological Systems of the Geo-Biosphere. Springer, 2002
Grabher G.: Farbatlas der Ökosysteme der Erde: natürliche, naturnahe und künstliche Land-Ökosysteme aus geobotanischer Sicht. Ulmer, 364 pp., 1997
Steffen W., Richardson K., Rockström J., Cornell S., Fetzer I., Bennett E., Biggs R., Carpenter S., Vries W., de Wit C., Folke C., Gerten D., Heinke J., Persson L., Ramanathan V., Reyers B., Sörlin S.: Planetary Boundaries: Guiding Human Development on a Changing Planet. Science Vol 347, Issue 6223 , 2015. Doi:10.1126/science.1259855.
Walter H., Breckle S.W.: Vegetation und Klimazonen der Erde. 7. Auflage. Ulmer. 1999.
Dodds W.: Freshwater ecology: concepts and environmental applications. Elsevier. 2002.

Lectures, exercises

Final examination character:
Written exam