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====== “Meadows Matter” – An online toolkit to grasp the concept of ecosystem services ======

As the term **‘[[:wiki:ecosystemservices|ecosystem services]]’**comprises a **complex understanding** of how particular ecosystem factors are related to each other, how they interact and influence each other and how they are influenced through human activities, a **tool kit ** (‘Meadows Matter’) was developed in the context of the [[:wiki:vital_project|project ]]**‘[[http://www.project-regards.org/VITAL/VITAL_index.html|VITAL]]’**in order to help students to grasp this complexity. As the [[:wiki:vital_project|VITAL Project]] focuses on [[:wiki:grassland_biomass|grasslands]], the tool kit addresses topics such as:

  * **diversity of grassland plants and soil organisms****, **
  * **nutrient cycles within grasslands,**
  * **influence of land use on grassland properties**  and
  * **ability of ****grasslands ****to fulfill ecosystem services**.
<font inherit/inherit;;black;;inherit>‘Meadows Matter’ is designed for high school students (15 to 19 years) but learning activities described may be easily adapted to adult learners needs. The tool kit is structured in **five modules**.</font><font inherit/inherit;;black;;inherit>Each module consists of various learning activities and can be used individually to teach a particular sub-concept.</font>

**[[:wiki:mm_module1|Module 1]] (‘Same, same but different’) **<font inherit/inherit;;black;;inherit>attentions on similarities and differences among various grassland types, especially differences in plant diversity, focusing on intensively and extensively used meadows.</font>

**[[:wiki:mm_module2|Module 2]] (‘Eating the green’) **<font inherit/inherit;;black;;inherit>illustrates the interdependence of organisms regarding on food chains.</font>

**[[:wiki:mm_module3|Module 3]] (‘Digging deep’) **<font inherit/inherit;;black;;inherit>elaborates some basics on soil ecology, including soil formation, soil types as well as soil organisms and their contribution to ecosystem services.</font>

**[[:wiki:mm_module4|Module 4]] (‘Cycling cycles’) **<font inherit/inherit;;black;;inherit>refreshes knowledge about the carbon, the nitrogen and the water cycle while simultaneously linking those cycles with organisms above- and belowground.</font>

**[[:wiki:mm_module5|Module 5]] (‘The whole concept’) **<font inherit/inherit;;black;;inherit>synthesises acquired knowledge obtained from previous modules to the concept of ecosystem services.</font>

In designing the modules the main goal was to offer students opportunities to **‘experience’ sub-concepts**  within every module by using **varied learning activities**, building on students’ already existing knowledge. To encourage students learning, [[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept-Map|concept ]][[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept-Map|maps]]<font inherit/inherit;;black;;inherit>are</font><font inherit/inherit;;black;;inherit>used</font><font inherit/inherit;;black;;inherit>as</font><font inherit/inherit;;black;;inherit>a</font><font inherit/inherit;;black;;inherit>central element.</font>

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This work was supported by FWF through the [[:wiki:vital_project|FP6 BiodivERsA Eranet VITAL project]] and is part of a MasterThesis at [[:wiki:uibk|University of Innsbruck, Institute of Ecology]] by Sarah Kerle (__Sarah.Kerle@uibk.ac.at)__

===== Copyrights =====

{{:wiki:creative_commons.png?nolink&50}} If you would like to use our free downloadable teaching resources please contact __Sarah.Kerle@uibk.ac.at__  Also consider the following licences: [[http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/|http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/]]