Eric TABACCHI
eric.tabacchi@univ-tlse3.fr
05 61 55 89 23
Manuela GRIPPA
manuela.grippa@get.omp.eu
05 61 33 29 87
ecosystem functioning • ecosystem dynamics • remote sensing • local measurements and environmental sensors • spatial and temporal ecosystem scaling • environmental proxies • ecosystem mapping and modelling
Learning objectives
The main objective of this course is to deliver fundamentals on ecosystem monitoring, accessible to a wide panel of students originating from diverse scientific disciplines (from astrophysics to geology and ecology). The concepts of ecosystem functioning/services and ecosystem dynamics need data to be delineated, monitored and modelled. Many tools, from satellite-based sensors to local data-loggers or field expertise, are available for building appropriate databases.
The students will learn how to include structural (spatial, biodiversity) and functional (processes related to matter, information and energy fluxes) aspects of ecosystems into a multiscale approach, in order to measure, explain and forecast the consequences of environmental changes on bio-physical cycles and related natural services.
It will give a particular attention on biological/physical interactions and regulatory feedbacks. The course will deliver knowledge about ecological measurements with critical insights on concepts, instruments and analysis/interpretation, focusing on ongoing research and activities in the framework of the critical zone and long term ecological observatories.
Prerequisites
None.
Brief description of the course
- A short theoretical introduction to ecosystem functioning and dynamics, including bio-geomorphic and bio-geochemical feedbacks
- A presentation of sensor capability and limitations in relation to technological and ecological aspects
- A field trip (Occitania Region) giving an illustration on the methods used for remote sensors calibration and for in situ measurements
- Practical exercises on cutting edge remote sensing applications linked to the topics addressed during the field trip
- Key-note flash conferences on specific examples