20410291 - TECNICHE CARTOGRAFICHE E GIS NELLE APPLICAZIONI ECOLOGICHE

Cultural skills:
-spatial attributes of ecological processes
–spatial ecology: concepts and applications
– GIS: functions, data types and software types
Methodological skills: practical use of GIS software
– retrieve, analyse and interpret spatial data – recognize and assess ecological spatial patterns
teacher profile | teaching materials

Programme

Theory
- Intro to spatial ecology: from spatial patterns to ecological processes
- GIS: functions, geographical approach and modeling of reality
- Types of GIS software: open source and proprietary software
- Data models: vectorial (points, lines and polygons) and raster (pixel)
- Principles and methods in remote sensing: electromagnetic reflectance, remote sensed image resolution, active and passive sensors, remote sensing platforms

Practicals (software: GIS and R)
- Visualization of geographical objects(features) on a map
- Preparation of plant and animal maps
- Preparation and analysis of environmental maps (land use/land cover, habitat maps, photosynthetic activity, etc.) in time and in space
- Principles and methods of cartographic extraction of bio-environmental features
- Introduction to Species Distribution Modeling (SDM)



Core Documentation

Materials, PDFs of lecture slides and scripts are made available during the course

Suggested textbooks:
- Geographic Information Systems in Ecology (Methods in Ecology), Carol A. Johnston, Blackwell Scientific Edition, Malden, MA, 1998, p. 239.
- An Introduction to R for Spatial Analysis and Mapping, Chris Brunsdon and Lex Comber, SAGE Publications Ltd; 2015, p. 360


Office hours are by appointment via email: marta.carboni@uniroma3.it


Type of delivery of the course

The course will include theoretical lectures and in-class practical sessions with GIS and R software

Type of evaluation

The practical exam will consist in the elaboration and analysis of cartographical and spatial data with the aim of highlighting ecologically relevant patterns. Both the analytical skills in using the software and the ability to interpret ecological significance of the spatial analysis will be evaluated