Final Project: Ecosystem Services & Disturbance
It is my hope that regardless of your major and career trajectory that you leave this course looking at wildland areas through a new lens. That when you are hiking or hunting or just driving by in a car that you see a complex and multi-dimensional system and can describe many of its dynamics… components, interactions and what is controlling those interactions… and how the system provides ecosystem goods & services, and what has or could disrupt the delivery of ecosystem goods and services.
Instructions
Therefore as the culminating project for this course you will pick ONE of the systems in this document pick ONE of the systems in this document as a prompt to craft profile of the systems ecosystem goods & services and past, current or potential disturbances. As you discuss ecosystem goods & services and disturbances for your chose area you will also explain why or how the ecosystem goods and services is provided or the disturbance did or can occur and to do this you will need to include terms and concepts from what we’ve learned in weeks 1-4. In other words use the material of weeks 1-4 to discuss and explain the ecosystem goods and services and disturbance(s) of your chosen area.
To help you remember what was in week 1-4….
– biogeography of the system… climate, topography, general types of plants (grasses, shrubs, trees, drought tolerant, etc.)
– the morphology and physiology of several of the plants in the system … including plant adaptations
– the biogeochemical cycles
– the energy flow through the system
– the community ecology of the system (each image will have several bird, animal and fish species listed)
Expectations
Maximum points will be given to those profiles that are reflective, thorough, well organized, and present as a cohesive whole. The profile does not have to be a long written narrative…. it could be a combo of narrative and bullet points or tables, images with context… etc. There is no minimum or maximum number of pages… no font or spacing stipulations.
