Entry requirements

30 credits (equivalent to half a year of full-time studies) on a Bachelor's programme in biology, including at least one course in ecology, zoology or botany.

Learning outcomes

The course will give an overview over northern tempered and boreal ecosystems.

After passing the course the student should be able to

• Account for important groups of organisms and prominent species in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and how they are adapted to the environment
• give basic explanations for how the structures of the ecosystems are influenced by climates, physical factors and human impact.
• apply basic field methods

Content

Climate and geology, postglacial development, biogeography, vegetation zones. Abiotic factors (terrestrial, aquatic) and basic soil science. Human impact on the ecosystems. Species composition, lifeforms and adaptations in the most prominent ecosystems (coniferous forests, deciduous forest, cultivated land, bogs, lakes, the sea). Basic field methods for analysis of organism groups.

Instruction

Lectures, seminars and field exercises.

Assessment

To pass the course, active participation in the field exercises and passed group presentation (3 credits) and passed individually written report (2 credits) is required. If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the disability coordinator of the university.