PLANT ECOLOGY
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2018/2019
- Teacher
- LUCA BRAGAZZA
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Secondo Semestre
- SSD
- BIO/03
Training objectives
- The course aims at providing the students with an introductory knowledge to plant ecology. In particular, the primary goal is to analyze the main structural and functional responses of plant communities to environmental conditions.
The specific objectives of the course can be summarized as follows:
• definition and delimitation of plant communities
• understanding the main abiotic and biotic factors affecting plant communities on spatial and temporal scales
• analyzing the main functional processes of plant communities in response to environmental changes
The student will be able: 1) to recognize the main environmental factors affecting the structure and functioning of natural plant communities; 2) to relate the major drivers of global environmental change to the responses of plant communities. In addition, the student will acquire the basic knowledge to recognize the spatial vaiability of vegetation types. Prerequisites
- A basic knowledge of Botany and Plant Physiology is required.
Course programme
- The course consists of 48 hours of frontal lessons so subdivided:
• Definition of plant community (2 hours)
• The physiognomy of plant communities: growth forms, leaf area index, functional growth forms, phenology (6 hours)
• Composition and spatial distribution of plant species within a community (4 hours)
• The main abiotic and biotic factors shaping plant communities (26 hours)
• Global environmental change and vegetation responses (10 hours) Didactic methods
- The teaching activity is organized as frontal lessons addressing the theoretical topics above listed.
Learning assessment procedures
- The final exam will consist in an oral discussion and/or written test. The minimum score to pass the exam is 18/30. In case of failure, the exam can be repeated at any time after consultation with the teacher.
Reference texts
- Handouts and bibliographic references provided by the teacher. For further in-depth study, the following text is recommended: Strasburger E. (2007) “Trattato di botanica”, Vol. 2, “Evoluzione sistematica ed ecologia”. Antonio Delfino Editore.
