Climate change and desertification risk

World is changing rapidly and we have to face the severe consequences of how we are acting. Desertification is just one of the consequences of wrong land management and climate events. I want to increase the sensibility of the students for an increasing world problem.

The entire Climate Changes course will be given in English. Upon request, a final examination in English will be possible.

Ecological climatology is an interdisciplinary framework to understand the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems in the Earth system. It examines the physical, chemical, and biological processes by which ecosystems affect and are affected by climate. The central theme is that terrestrial ecosystems, through their cycling of energy, water, chemical elements, and trace gases, are important determinants of climate change and loss of species, ecosystems and ecosystem services. The coupling between climate and vegetation is explored at different spatial scales and timescales with a particular focus on Africa. Natural vegetation dynamics and human land use are shown to be important mechanisms of climate change. The North African Sahel, Sicily and Indonesia are examples of climate-ecosystem dynamics. Deforestation, desertification and urbanization are case studies of how human uses of land alter climate.

1) M. Begon, J. L. Harper & C. R. Townsend (2006 or later). Ecology. Blackwell

2) J. E. Cohen (1995). Population growth and earth's human carrying capacity. Science 269, 341-346.

3) S. L. Lewis & M. A. Masli (2015). Defining the Anthropocene. Nature (2015) doi:10.1038/nature14258

4) G. Bonan (2015). Ecological Climatology: Concepts and Applications. Cambridge University Press.

5) G. West (TED Talk) https://www.ted.com/talks/geoffrey_west_the_surprising_math_of_cities_and_corporations