ECTS
ECTS Course Catalogue
Course details
Course code: BBS20419o17Semester: 2017/2018 summer
Name: Plant Biodiversity And Plant Communities
Major: Biology
Study Type: second cycle
Course type: compulsory
Study Semester: 2
ECTS points: 7
Hours (Lectures / Tutorials / Other): 10 / 50 / 0
Lecturer: Dr hab. Jarosław Proćków prof. nadzw.
Language of instruction: Polish / English
The course taught in English if the group has ≥6 students. The course taught in Polish with a possibility of support in English if the group has <6 students.
Learning outcomes: Knowledge: Student - knows methods used in phytosociological research and he/she knows how to make an interesting presentation; knows basic phytosociological concepts and various types of plant communities; has the advanced knowledge about the use of phytosociology. Skills: Student - plans, performs and properly documents a phytosociological study in the field; is able to determine the type of the plant community on the basis of the phytosociological relevé; possesses the skills to identify plant species using appropriate identification keys.
Competences: Student is willing to update systematically his knowledge of plant biodiversity and phytosociology; he/she studies actively the professional literature; is aware of the effects of working in a group; he/she is able to work in the group and to organise field studies and also to lead a team and work together.
Prerequisites: -
Course content: The importance of the flora biodiversity. The directional elements and sub-elements in the flora of Poland (holarctic: Boreal, Boreal-Mountainous, Atlantic; Mediterranean; Irano-Turanian; connecting elements; endemics). The uniqueness of the Polish flora in comparison to other European countries. The objectives and a practical application of phytosociology. Basic definitions related to phytosociology. The structure of plant communities. The main assumptions of phytosociological schools. Basics of syntaxonomy. Characteristic, distinctive and accompanying species. The principles of the construction of phytosociological tables. Methods of implementing of the phytosociological relevés. A Braun-Blanquet method and its use in the vegetation research, environmental inventories and expertises, especially financed from the EU budget. Geobotanical regions of Poland. Classification and overview of selected plant communities of Poland and their general characteristics: temperate deciduous forests (beech, oak, sycamore, and riparian forests), coniferous (pine, fir, spruce) forests, meadows, xerothermic grasslands, mires, ruderal, crop, aquatic, reed, dunes (coastal and inland), and halophyte communities. The impact of invasive plants on flora and plant communities.
Recommended literature: Stace C., 2010. New Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK (for Erasmus students, provided by the teacher).
Assessment methods: An assessment of the course is based on the completion of exercises and lectures (both are led separately). Final grade is the average of the credit ratings of lectures and exercises. If a student does not pass the lecture material for the first time, he/she has the right to repeat the test within the period prescribed by the teacher (no later than until the end of the exam session).
Comment: