Ecological Conditions and Climate Change

• Ecology of the earth, landscape formation, biodiversity
• Climate, agroecological zones, definitions and descriptions
• Soil formation in relation to landscape and climatic factors
• Water resources, management and use in relation to climatic zones
• Land use systems in major climatic zones.

Causes and consequences of global climate change

• Trends and scenarios of future climate and ist impact on agriculture
• Sources and sinks of greenhouse gases
• Political frameworks to combat climate change
• Strategies to reduce emissions from agriculture (mitigation)
• Strategies to cope with climate change phenomena (adaptation)
• Scenarios of future climate and ist impact on agriculture
• Trade-offs of major mitigation / adaptation scenario

Students aquire the know how about and a quantitative understanding of the structure and use of resources (soil, water, plant, animal, genes, ecosystem) for agricultural production within their changing biophysical environment, including the effects of agriculture on and the contributions to desertification and climate change.