LATI 239 - Neotropical Landscapes

Cross-Listed as GEOG 239

The Neotropical realm refers to the biogeographic region that includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and South America’s temperate zone. These areas are home to immense biodiversity, including many endemic and threatened species, and provide critical services both locally and globally including water sources and climate mitigation. They are also home to various human populations and support their livelihoods. This course offers an introduction to these landscapes from a geographical perspective. It is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the most important biophysical and social characteristics of the dominant landscapes of the Neotropics. Among others, these include tropical rain forests, Andean páramos, woodland savannas and tropical dry forests. For each of these landscapes, we will analyze the key climatological, biogeographical and ecological processes that define these areas as unique ecoregions or biomes. We will also study the peoples that live in them-indigenous communities, afro-descendants, and mestizo populations-and how they interact with their environment. Finally, we will study the main threats that these places face, including deforestation, afforestation, and climate change, and the key stakeholders driving, maintaining or reducing these processes. Alternate years. (4 Credits)