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Foundations of Restoration Ecology

Analytical Thinking
Critical Thinking

Course Description

As an applied science, restoration ecology uses ecological theory to guide the restoration of degraded ecosystem structures, functions, and/or services. This course examines principles from systems theory and population, community, landscape, and ecosystem ecology. It links those principles to restoration social contexts and values, and to decision-making, planning and implementation.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be required to meet additional criteria in terms of their depth and nuance of understanding; their degree of critical analysis, synthesis, and evaluation; and their engagement in the primary literature via leadership role in the class. The more substantial depth and critical thinking criteria will be enacted by specifying different scopes and objectives in writing assignments for graduate students. Graduate students will also be required to design 15-20 minute presentations that evaluate the latest scholarship and controversies surrounding lecture topics.

Athena Title

Restoration Ecology

Prerequisite

ECOL 3500-3500L or ECOL 3505H-3505L or FANR 3200 or FANR 3200W or permission of department

Semester Course Offered

Offered spring

Grading System

A - F (Traditional)

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Students will learn to understand and analyze ecosystem degradation and restoration from a systems perspective.
  • Students will learn to apply fundamental ecological principles to analyze problems and inform practice in restoration ecology.
  • Students will explore and appreciate the history and plurality of rationales, values, goals, and tradeoffs associated with restoration.
  • Students will learn to identify how both ecological theory and values are translated into planning and action through restoration methods and decision-making.
  • Students will gain deeper appreciation of ongoing challenges, tensions, and dilemmas in restoration ecology by studying and evaluating primary literature and case studies.

Topical Outline

  • Top-1. Ecosystems as Systems
  • TOP-1.1. Systems ecology & basics of complexity theory
  • TOP-1.2. How systems change: feedbacks, thresholds, degradation, resilience, regime shifts
  • TOP-1.3. Social-ecological systems
  • TOP-2. Restoration Perspectives and Planning: What do we want, and why do we want it?
  • TOP-2.1. Evolution of past and current schools of thought
  • TOP-2.2. Multiple values, multiple goals
  • TOP-2.3. Ecosystem services

Institutional Competencies

Analytical Thinking

The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.


Critical Thinking

The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.


Syllabus

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