Read the Fine Print
Paleoecology: Documenting Long-term Environmental Variability
(Complete Item Description)
- Abstract:
The objectives of this lab are to 1) provide students with an overview of paleoecological techniques, 2) illustrate how these techniques are used to document local changes in peat-accumulating wetlands over long time-scales (centuries to millennia), and 3) illustrate how long-term perspectives on environmental variability aid in the interpretation of recent environmental changes. Students actively create and interpret a hypothetical plant macrofossil and charcoal record spanning the last few thousand years. The macrofossil record places human-caused changes within the context of long-term natural variability. Interpretation of the record also reveals interrelationships among climate, vegetation, hydrology, and fire.
- Subject:
- Science and Technology
- Grade Level:
- Post-secondary
- SubTopics:
- Industrial and Agricultural Impacts
- Collection:
- Association for Biology Laboratory Education (ABLE)