Objectives: Under the general framework of Global Change Ecology, the goal of this course is to provide the participants with the most recent and practical knowledge on the use of Functional Diversity. This includes the selection of functional traits and calculation of Functional Diversity Indexes. Examples of the application of this knowledge will be given regarding Ecological Indicators and Ecosystem Services.

The specific objectives are:

• To give a general overview on global change drivers and point out the needs of current and future studies on Ecology;
• To synthesize the most useful methods and tools for Ecosystem Services assessment, focusing on Ecological Indicators;
• To allow the participants to apply the acquired knowledge on case study data (participants’ data or data provided by the organizers), using R software. Examples of calculation with other software will also be provided (e.g. PC-ORD).

More information available here.