Ecosystem Services – Assessment and Mapping

Course Description

Objectives
The aim of this course is to introduce the students to the range of biophysical processes that are able to supply benefits to people, those being defined as nature’s contributions or services. Through lectures, practical, hands-on exercises and small projects, students will acquire the necessary skills to be able to assess and map ecosystem services.
Content
1. Social-ecological systems: theory and conceptual frameworks
2. Biophysical processes, environment and ecosystem services
3. Classification systems of ecosystem services
4. Natural capital, supply, use, value and demand of ecosystem services
5. Assessment of ecosystem services: methods and tools
6. Applications of ES assessments in different systems (marine, terrestrial, rural)
7. Methods of ES mapping and introduction to basic tools for ES assessments (participatory mapping, crowdsourcing, earth observation, R, ArcGIS, InVEST)
8. Data for ES assessments: prerequisites, major data sources, challenges
9. Use of reading of ES maps, user-centered design and thinking
10. Comparative analysis and choices for ES mapping methods for given examples.
Teaching & Assessment
Teaching is happening through combination of theory with practice and field visits.
Student assessment is happening through
• Written exam on the course theory (50%) including:
Multiple choice questions
Short open ended questions
• Group assignment (50%)