737330 Land use, climate change and biodiversity

Type
Lecture and seminar
Semester hours
2
Lecturer (assistant)
Hietz, Peter , Mattsson, Brady , Erb, Karlheinz
Organisation
Offered in
Wintersemester 2024/25
Languages of instruction
Englisch
Content

Land use plays a crucial role in the Earth's climate systems. The global food system is a key driver of global heating, and changes in land use, such as deforestation due to agricultural expansion considerably reduce carbon stocks of the biosphere. This occurs mainly in the global South, while forests are returning in area and stock in many countries of the global North. Land use does not only affect the global climate system, it is a key driver of biodiversity loss and the land degradation, while at the same time it is pivotal for society, providing essential ecosystem services such as food and energy, water and air purification or climate regulation. Understanding these interactions is essential for effective climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.
The course is dedicated to the in-depth exploration of the various components and implications of the global land system and their interrelations. It focuses on key dynamics and methods for assessing the past and future role of land use in the Earth system. Topics include IPCC approaches for AFOLU-LULUCF accounting, methods for mapping land use and land-cover changes, and their implications for carbon dynamics and biodiversity. It provides an overview of Land Use Models and focuses on approaches suitable for identifying and quantifying trade-offs within the land system
Previous knowledge expected

The course is intended for advanced students who have completed the compulsory introductory modules
•Climate Change and Social Ecology
•Grand challenges in the Anthropocene
•Scenarios and models as tools to understand complex systems
•Transformation pathways
•Inter- and transdisciplinary approaches and processes
and within Specialization 2: Social Ecology of Climate Change
•Biophysical concepts and methods of social ecology
•Climate change mitigation: A socio-ecological perspective
Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)

The seminar provides an overview of the research field land system science. After completion of the course, the students have gained knowledge in following topics in the field of land systems and the climate system: Key dimensions of land-use (change), drivers of land use change, (historic) linkages of energy use and land systems, global land use trends, land-use and the carbon state of ecosystems, teleconnections in the land system, trade-offs and synergies in the land system: nexus energy, food, biodiversity, ecosystem services and climate change, natural climate solutions, principles of IPCC AFOLU and LULUCF accounting, opportunity carbon costs of land use, full carbon accounting, solutions/option spaces (e.g. land sharing vs. land sparing), demand-side solutions vs. production side solutions (e.g. diets, organic farming, intensification).

After completion of the course, students will be able to correctly interpret statistical data for land-based / carbon accounting; they are knowledgeable about empirical methods of land-use research as well as to discuss aspects of nexus between land-use, climate, and their change over time and biodiversity. Key skills further include the ability to analyze land-use processes and to discuss and present scientific results.

Professional competencies include systemic thinking related to the interlinkages between land use and climate dynamics in order to understand potentials and implications of natural climate solutions; the ability to discuss and interpret land-use analyses and AFOLU / LULUCF accounting and competencies to understand and evaluate trade-offs in the land systems and of land-based mitigation, in the light of the interwoven nature of the land use, climate and biodiversity crises.

Students develop skills in interdisciplinary communication and in cooperative research with colleagues from other scientific backgrounds. They have trained their skills in presenting and discussing scientific results.
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.