SDG Detail

ENVSCI 737 : Applied Terrestrial Ecology

Postgraduate course

Project description

This course focuses on developing an understanding in/of vegetation dynamics in forest and wetland ecosystems, with an emphasis on the potential and realised effects of fire, climate change and invasive species in New Zealand. These issues will be placed into the wider context of the ongoing debate about the nature of the ecological community and the role of disturbance in structuring ecological systems. The course also considers methods for collecting the data required to describe the composition, structure and function of vegetation communities and some of the quantitative tools used to analyse such data. The course is organised around a one week residential field-trip.

Year 2022

Location New Zealand

Organization University of Auckland

Project aims

Project outcome

By the end of this course, students will be able to: Describe the main processes underpinning vegetation dynamics in New Zealand's forest and wetlands systems in New Zealand, and the fundamental and applied importance of these issues (Capability 1 and 2) Apply some of the field methods used to collect data for the description and characterisation of vegetation communities and ecosystem functions (Capability 1 and 3) Show an understanding of and apply some of the quantitative methods used to analyse vegetation data (Capability 1 and 3) Understand and critically evaluate the importance of long-term ecological change in NZ, including human-environment interactions, for contemporary ecosystems (Capability 1, 2 and 6) Develop and demonstrate scientific writing skills through written reports integrating analysis of field data (Capability 4 and 5)