This course provides the ecological systems` knowledge needed to question applied solutions to current environmental issues. Our central aim is to balance participants' respect for complexity with a sense of possibility by providing examples from the vast solution space offered by ecological systems, such as e.g. green infrastructure to manage water.

Fundamentals of systems ecology: Principles, approaches, and modeling are illustrated by case studies based on a general systems-theoretical foundation. Students learn to approach complex systems in a systematic, structured manner. Since examples are not only drawn from ecology, but also biology, agronomy, and forestry, students gain skills in the use of dynamic systems in all those disciplines.

The course is a mixture of lectures, formal presentations by students and discussions based on reading of literature. It addresses selected topics in ecosystem ecology such as ‘ecosystems in a changing climate’, ‘biodiversity and ecosystem functioning’, ‘ecological stoichiometry’, and ‘trophic cascades’. Students are welcome to suggest alternative topics.