Course Overview:
This course presents the discipline of Landscape Ecology, where natural and social sciences meet. You will realize how innovative and collaborative approaches used in Landscape Ecology allow land managers, planners and the public to shape landscapes for future societies. We will teach you the modern tools of Landscape Ecology enabling you to address fundamental research questions. Leading Landscape Ecology professors will present case studies from around the world, highlighting tools and methods in Landscape Ecology and how they are used to solve environmental problems.
What you'll learn:
- Methods for the valuation of landscapes using the ecosystem service paradigm
- How to quantify landscape attributes using landscape metrics
- Methods to assess user conflicts in ecologically sensitive landscapes
- How to use satellite data to detect landscape changes
- Philosophical aspects of landscapes, land ethics and conservation
- Theories of landscape perception and place attachment
- Ecology in the context of urban landscapes
- Statistical analysis with R
- How to work with spatial data and GIS
Schedule & Syllabus:
- The content is released in three large units (see columns "Unit")
- Under the "Dates" tab, there are some deadlines in October and others in November: you can disregard them. These dates are part of the new Dates & Scheduling feature of edx. Learners will be shown these suggested due dates to help them stay on track. If they miss said due dates, they will be able to shift them and continue taking the course.
- The only "Due Date" you have to worry about it the course end date, 2. September 2022, before that time you must complete all the assignments and you will be graded accordingly.
|
Week |
Unit |
Section |
Workload |
Release Date |
Due Date |
|
1 |
Course Welcome |
0.3 Introduce Yourself |
0h20 |
07.09.2021 |
|
|
1 |
Unit 1:LE Foundations |
1.1 Introducing Landscape Ecology |
2h05 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
1.2 Drivers of Landscape Pattern |
1h50 |
|
|
|
3 |
Unit 2: Land System Modelling |
2.1 Theory: Landscape Modelling |
2h35 |
||
|
4 |
|
2.2 Case Study: Oil Exploration and Rare Plants Conservation |
2h50 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
2.3 Theory: Landscape Metrics |
1h50 |
|
|
|
6 |
|
2.4 Case Study: Landscape Impacts of Transportation Infrastructure |
2h20 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
2.5 Theory: Remote Sensing |
1h00 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
2.6 Case Study: Urbanisation in the Maldives |
2h10 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
2.7 Case Study: Snow on Artic Sea Ice |
1h30 |
|
|
|
10 |
Unit 3: Landscape and Society |
3.1 Theory: Landscape Perception |
1h30 |
||
|
11 |
|
3.2 Case Study: Renewable Energy and Landscape Conflicts |
2h15 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
3.3 Case Study: Soundscape Ecology |
|
|
|
|
13 |
|
3.4 Theory: Ecosystem Services and Valuation |
1h30 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
3.5 Case Study: Land Ethics |
2h30 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
3.6 Theory: Urban Ecology |
0h30 |
|
|
|
16 |
3.7 Case Study: Urban Ecology in Bangalore |
1h40 |
|
02.09.2022 |
Grading Policy:
- Each section of this course is graded individually ( e.g. section "1.1 Foundation: Introducing Landscape Ecology" is graded by Quiz Q1)
- All questions within a section count towards the grade of that section.
- To pass you need to score above 50% in 11 of the 16 sections.
Workload:
- Approximately 2-4 hours per week
- The workload is equal to 2 ECTS
Duration:
- Suggested duration: 16 Weeks. However, the course can be solved self-paced until Septermber 2nd 2022.
Prerequisits:
- High-school algebra
- Basic knowledge in GIS and statistics ( or willingness to put in some extra effort)
- basic ecology
- understanding of maps
Academic Policy
You are required to abide by the terms of the edX honor code