Through a series of seminars,
fieldwork activities and practical sessions, this course will introduce
students into the concepts of ecosystem services (ES), with a particular focus
on their relevance for land use management. The course aims to foster the
ability of students to assume an interdisciplinary research perspective by considering
agro-ecosystems as social-ecological systems. The students will apply integrative
approaches that combine multiple spatial scales (farm-scale, landscape-scale and
regional-scale) and make use of biophysical, socio-cultural and economic
valuation approaches. The module is structured in two main blocks:
In this section of the students will
learn the main concepts around ecosystem services and their relevance for
agroecosystems. After an introductory session on ES, each of the following sessions
will focus on a different approach for mapping, assessing and valuing ES
(biophysical, socio-cultural and economic).
2. Practical block
This block is largely based on a field trip (excursion from 27th May to 29th May 2024, students need to co-pay €50) in which the students will learn and apply a combination of biophysical, socio-cultural and economic techniques for mapping and assessing ES at farm and landscape scales. The collected data will be processed and analyzed in practical sessions using geospatial analysis, analysis of quantitative data and analysis of qualitative data.