This course is part of a partnership with the Semester in Environmental Science (SES) Program of Marine Biological Laboratories (MBL). This program is open to students who have completed courses in chemistry, biology, and mathematics. Students accepted to this program will spend the fall semester at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA. Please see here for more information on the SES program: https://www.mbl.edu/education/undergraduate-programs/semester-environmental-science. Prior to submitting your application to MBL’s Semester in Environmental Science program, you must meet with the Chair of the Natural Sciences and Mathematics department to discuss your interest and get permission to apply to this program. Since applications to the MBL SES program are due mid-March, you must meet with the Chair in the Fall semester or by the first week in February. Once you have received approval from the Chair you must submit an application to MBL’s Semester in Environmental Science program. This required course is one of five courses in the semester-length SES program and covers terrestrial ecosystems from the point of view of biogeochemistry and ecological processes. In the field and laboratory students spend the first eight weeks of the course with an intensive study of ecosystems processes, such as primary production and nitrogen mineralization, and properties such as standing stock, plant diversity and soil carbon and nitrogen content across the disturbance gradient in grassland, forest and suburban sites in the towns of Mashpee and Falmouth, MA. This course satisfies the Intermediate Level Course requirements for the Interdisciplinary Science Major. Permission required to register for this course.