UBC Geography 307 

 

• Overview
• Lectures and Labs
• Syllabus
• Course readings
• Links

The following readings are available for download as .pdf files (require Adobe Acrobat to view):

Reading 1: Earth's Variable Climatic Past - Paleoecology

Gill, J.L. et al. 2009. Pleistocene megafaunal collapse, novel plant communities, and enhanced fire regimes in North America. Science 326:1100-1103. (This paper is used in Paleoecolgy 2. Read for a better understanding of the evidence for extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna)

Davis, M.B. and R.G. Shaw. 2001. Range shifts and adadaptive responses to Quaternary climate change. Science 292: 673-679.

deMenocal, P.B. 2001. Cultural responses to climate change during the late Holocene. Science 292: 667-673. (This paper is used in Paleoecology 2. Read for a better understanding of the link between cultural collapse and climate change in the past.)

Reading 2: Ecosystem processes and global change

Field CB, Chapin FS III, Matson PA, Mooney HA. 1992. Responses of terrestrial ecosystems to the changing atmosphere: a resource-based approach. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 23:201-235.

Reading 3: Feedbacks between climate and vegetation

Foley J.A., J.E. Kutzbach, M.T. Coe, S. Levin. 1994. Feedbacks between climate and boreal forests during the Holocene epoch. Nature 371:52-54.

Reading 4: Biodiversity and ecosystem function

Chapin F.S. III, Reynolds H.L., D’Antonio C.M., Eckhart V.M. 1996. The functional role of species in terrestrial ecosystems. In: Walker B and Steffen W (eds), Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems. International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme Book Series 2, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Pp 403-428.

Reading 5: Climate Change and Alpine Ecosystems - Treelines

Krajick, K. 2004. All downhill from here? Science 303: 1600-1602.

Reading 6: Conservation and Preservation

Pickett. S.T.A., V.T. Parker and P.L. Fiedler. 1992. The new paradigm in ecology: implications for conservation biology above the species level. Pp. 66-88 in Fiedler , P. L., and S. K. Jain (eds.) Conservation Biology: The Theory and Practice of Nature Conservation, Preservation and Management. Chapman and Hall, New York.

Reading 7: Restoration

Higgs, E.S. 1997. What is good ecological restoration? Conservation Biology 11:338-348.

Reading 8: Carbon exchange and nutrient dynamics

Melillo, J. 1996. Carbon and nitrogen interactions in the terrestrial biosphere: anthropogenic effects. In: Walker B and Steffen W (eds), Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems. International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme Book Series 2, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Pp 431-450. Note that this reading is considered optional as it is at the global scale and should be read to provide additional information at that scale.

(More Readings - Page 2)