Plant Ecology & Environmental Measurement

Introduction

The strategy of this course involves an integration of its activities into those of the other Field School courses.

There are specific assignments associated with the three sections of the course (Plant Part, Environment Part and Synthesis). You will use materials from books, the Internet and your own observations to complete assignments. There are no formal lectures as this is a problem-oriented course.

Some of your activities will be done as a part of a small team. Other activities are individual.

The results of your assignments will be shared as on the Internet and they will be presented to the class during the final week.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Explain the basic biological and environmental factors that limit the distribution of plants and illustrate these factors with examples.
  • Set up and use basic environmental measuring equipment.
  • Find, assess and use basic plant distribution and environmental data from data warehouses.
  • Create spatial distribution maps of plant species and environmental factors and use these as overlays in a generalized geographic information system.

Part 1: The Plant

  • Introduction to the Biology of Plant Distributions
  • Plant Ecology Modules

Part 2: The Environment

Part 3: The Synthesis

  • Methodologies for Research Investigations
  • Case Studies

Grading and Rubrics

Each of the three parts of this course contribute equally to the total points on which grades are based.

The following grade cutoffs are used.

A = 90% or above

B = 80% to 90%

C = 70% to 80%

D = 60% to 70%

F = below 60%

A Few Extra Things

Photography Saturday