Célia Maria Dias Ferreira

Global Change Biology and Ecology
Climate Change Impacts (in the Ecosystems)
Mitigation and Adaptation
Climate Change in Portugal. Scenarios, Impacts and Adaptation Measures

Global Change Ecology exists to promote understanding of the interface between all aspects of current environmental change that affects a substantial part of the globe and biological systems.
It is intended that at the end of this Curricular Unit/Course, students should be able to:
O1. Knowing and understand the Concepts about Global Change  and Ecology;
O2. Describing and explain the ecological impacts of natural and anthropogenic changes in the earth's physical environment, and the effects of introduced species, species extinctions, land-use change, agriculture, and fishing;
O3. Explain the Portuguese scenario of Climate Change (Scenarios, Impacts and Adaptation Measures).

P1. What is Global Change ecology? Linking past to present: biotic and abiotic driving forces for global changes;
P2. Biosphere evolution and recent changes;
P3. Principles of plant phytospreading, agro-ecosystem management and land use change, desertification, ecological aspects of agricultural technologies, population and agriculture and population density and impacts on biosphere.
P4. Global changes in nitrogen dynamics and eutrophication;
P5. Global changes in carbon dynamics, rising CO2 and temperature, anthropogenic changes in carbon sources and sinks, carbon sequestration and carbon mitigation, the problem of “missing carbon sink”, ocean warming and acidification of oceans and its global impact;
P6. Global changes in biodiversity (Global change and biodiversity - implications for ecosystem services), biological responses to global change and impact assessment;
P7. Global change and Portugal: global warming and trends of climate and biodiversity change.

F.D. Santos, K. Forbes, R. Moita (editores), 2002 Climate Change in Portugal. Scenarios, Impacts and Adaptation Measures. SIAM Project Gradiva, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, 454 págs., ISBN 972-662-843-1.
F.D. Santos e P. Miranda (editores) 2006 "Alterações Climáticas em Portugal. Cenários, Impactos e Medidas de Adaptação - Projecto SIAM II" Gradiva, Lisboa
More information and documentation provided online in the Curricular Unit webpage.
Links
IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
United Nations Environment Programme
World Meteorological Organization
APA http://www.apambiente.pt/index.php?ref=16&subref=81

E-learning

Continuous assessment is privileged: 2 or 3 digital written documents (e-folios) during the semester (40%) and a presence-based final exam (p-folio) in the end of the semester (60%). In due time, students can alternatively choose to perform one final presence-based exam (100%).