Students will develop the following competencies

• describe energy flows and material cycles in selected ecosystems
• illustrate functional organism-groups with different specialization in energy flows and material cycles of selected ecosystems
• explain interrelationships in the different cycles of selected ecosystems

• quantify energy and material cycles in selected ecosystems
• critically deal with the anthropogenic influence on energy and material cycles in ecosystems

None

In this course, students learn about the individual energy and material cycles of selected ecosystems. Furthermore, they get a broad overview of different tools and methods to understand the influence of anthropogenic and natural processes on the cycles of ecosystems.
The following contents are covered in the lecture:

• Energy and material cycles in selected ecosystems
• Interrelationships and influencing factors of the following biogeochemical cycles: carbon cycle, water cycle, nitrogen cycle, phosphorus cycle, sulphur cycle and oxygen cycle
• Biotic processes of primary and secondary production: photosynthesis, respiration, nutrient cycle (function of producers, consumers and destructors)
• Effects of natural processes on the energy and material cycles of selected ecosystems, e.g., through changes in temperature, water availability, or oxygen levels
• Introduction to the concept of planetary boundaries and discussion of identified limits (e.g., atmospheric CO2 levels, N cycle, P cycle, hydrologic cycle, biodiversity)
• Effects of anthropogenic impacts on selected ecosystems (land use change, resource depletion, and emissions)

IPCC: Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte V., Zhai P., Pirani A., Connors S.L., Péan C., Berger S., Caud N., Chen Y., Goldfarb L., Gomis M.I., Huang M., Leitzell K., Lonnoy E., Matthews J.B.R., Maycock T.K., Waterfield T., Yelekçi O., Yu R., Zhou B. (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, 2021; doi:10.1017/9781009157896.
Begon M., Townsend C. R.: Ecology: From individuals to ecosystems, 5th Edition, Blackwell Publishing, 2021
Rockström J., Steffen W., Noone K., Persson Å., Chapin III F. S., Lambin E., Lenton T. M., Scheffer M., Folke C., Schellnhuber H., Nykvist B., De Wit C. A., Hughes T., van der Leeuw S., Rodhe H., Sörlin S., Snyder P. K., Costanza R., Svedin U., Falkenmark M., Karlberg L., Corell R. W., Fabry V. J., Hansen J., Walker B., Liverman D., Richardson K., Crutzen P., Foley J.: Planetary boundaries: exploring the safe operating space for humanity. Ecology and Society Vol 14(2): 32., 2009; http://www.Ecologyandsociety.org/vol14/iss2/art32
Barry R. G.: Mountain Weather and Climate, (3rd ed.), Cambridge University Press. 2008; doi:10.1017/CBO9780511754753

lecture

Final examination character:
Written examination