| Responsible Department | Department of Agriculture and Ecology | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Earliest Possible Year | BSc. 3 year to MSc. 1 year | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | One block | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Credits | 7.5 (ECTS) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Level of Course | Joint BSc and MSc | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Examination | Continuous Assessment written examination and oral examination Some Aid allowed No materials at written exams, all materials allowed at reports and presentations Description of Examination: One presentation, one report (individual), three (best out of four) smaller written exams. Weight: Report 20%, Written exams 60%, Presentation 20% 7-point scale, no second examiner | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Requirement for Attending Exam | Participation in min. 75% of each of the individual course activities and participation in both all-day excursions | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Block Placement | Block 4 Week Structure: A | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language of Instruction | English | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Optional Prerequisites | Introductory courses in ecology, botany and statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Restrictions | None | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course Content | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| - Plant population ecology: dispersal, establishment, demography, density dependence, population growth, regulation and extinction, plant strategies - Population interactions: competition, herbivory, parasitism and disease, allelopathy - Plant community ecology: community structure, succession, species diversity, invasive plants, plant conservation - Plant in ecosystems: primary production, world's terrestrial vegetation type, global change | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teaching and learning Methods | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lectures, exercises and excursions, student presentations followed by student-led discussions, teacher-led discussions of articles, group work | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Learning Outcome | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Students in the course will become familiar with all the major questions and methods in modern plant ecology. These include knowledge of the factors that determine the abundance and distribution of plants, and how these factors can be investigated scientifically, and how current knowledge can be applied to solve applied problems. Students will obtain an understanding how modern ecological science is done with plants, starting with observation and natural history, description of patterns, building of models and theories, and making and testing of hypotheses. Knowledge - Understand and apply current "state of the art" scientific knowledge about the factors that determine the abundance and distribution of plants, including, abiotic factors such as climate and biotic factors such as competition, herbivory, parasitism. - Be aware of the difference between scientific and ethical issues in management of plant populations and communities, and their overlap Skills - Describe plant populations and communities quantitatively - Use plant ecological theories to develop and test hypotheses - Apply ecological principles to solve applied problems in ecosystem management and plant production - Judge alternative solutions to applied problems concerning plant populations and communities - Use demographic methods to analyze the condition of plant populations Competences - Understand and criticize research in all major areas of plant ecology - Develop hypotheses to explain the patterns in plant distribution and abundance - Discuss both the scientific and ethical aspect of applied problems concerning plant populations and communities | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course Literature | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gurevitch, J., Scheiner, S.M., & Fox, G.A. (2006) The ecology of Plants. 2nd Edition, Sinauer, Sunderland. USA. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Course Coordinator | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jacob Weiner, jw@life.ku.dk, Department of Agriculture and Ecology/Section of Botany, Phone: 353-32822 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Study Board | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Study Committee NSN | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Work Load | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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