Course in Ecosystem Conservation
The course explores the dynamics of air, water and soils as components of the biosphere in relation to changes in global and local environment, evaluates environmental characteristics as a dominating factor of existence and distribution of organisms, and investigates fundamental conditions for ecosystem conservation and biological production.
| Research Filed | Research Contents |
|---|---|
| Ecosystem Dynamics in Aquatic Environments | Research has been conducted on (1) the dynamics of communities such as plankton, microorganism, benthos and parasite; (2) the circulation of chemical elements including bioelements such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and iron, and organic matters. The correlation between the dynamics of communities and the circulation of chemical elements and the analysis of effects of human activities on them are common subjects for both kinds of research mentioned above. To analyze phenomenon locally and widely by model experiment and observation is a common method for both kinds of research. |
| Ecosystem Dynamics in Terrestrial Environments | In order to contribute to the preservation of biodiversity and utilization of biological resources in the terrestrial ecosystem, system components and correlation among them at species, ecosystem, and genetic level as main research subjects, research on population dynamics, primary production, material circulation, biology and physiology, reproduction, and rehabilitation/reproduction of ecosystem will be research topics. Current research topics are the rehabilitation and reproduction of the rainforest ecosystem in Southeast Asia, relations between animal and plant in a warm-temperate forest ecosystem in Japan, and analysis of methane absorption mechanism in a temperate forest. |
| Environmental Dynamics in Watershed Environments | Choosing Lake Biwa as a main model system, the terrestrial and aquatic environment such as rivers/lakes and marshes are researched as one system. (1) For the terrestrial ecosystem, the conservation of aquatic environment in rivers/lakes and marshes, the material dynamics and pollution reduction at the non-point source (forest land, farm land, atmospheric deposition, and groundwater), the evaluation and utilization of restoration and natural purification function of aquatic environment, and the environmental dynamics and environmental impact assessment method of pollutants such as endocrine disruptors will be research topics. (2) For the aquatic ecosystem, the distribution pattern of bioelement compounds such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus that consists of organisms in lakes and marshes and the surrounding aquatic environment, and their biogeochemical cycle will be research topics in the environmental science fashion. |