(Fysiologinen kasviekologia) (3 credits)
Time: 6 September 2010 until 20 October 2010. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 8:15 to 10:00.
Place: BIO3 6602, except 20.9.-22.9, 4.10. and 6.10. : BIO3 1401, and 5.10.: BIO2 2011.
Responsible teacher: university lecturer Pedro J. Aphalo
Other teacher: Matt Robson
Prerequisites: No formal prerequisites, but basic knowledge of ecology recommended.
Contents: Bases and definition of physiological plant ecology. Adaptation and acclimation of plants to their environemnt. Carbon balance. Water relations. Mineral nutrition. Dry matter production and growth. Biological interactions. Stress. Adaptation of plants to cold climates.
Teaching and studying: This course is based on lectures (40 h), but independent reading of one scientific paper will be required for exercises in Moodle.
Reading: Obligatory: material provided during lectures and in Moodle. Suplementary: Larcher, W (2002) Physiological Plants Ecology. Some chapters from Taiz, L and Zeiger, E (2006) Plant Physiology, Gurevitch, J et al. (2006) The Ecology of Plants and Scott, P (2008) Physiology and Behaviour of Plants.
Course homepage: http://www.helsinki.fi/people/pedro.aphalo/teaching/courses/ecophys-course/
Evaluation: written exam, quizzes in Moodle, and participation in discussions in Moodle and during lectures. Scale: 0-5.
Exam and repeats: Home exam at end of course, repeats agreed individually.
Enrollment: in Weedoodi from 23 August. Key to enrol in Moodle course space will be e-mailed to you. We will use the new Moodle server (http://moodle.helsinki.fi/). Send an e-mail to me if you need help.
Detailed contents
What is Physiological Plant Ecology?
- Physiological ecology is an experimental science, that seeks to describe the physiological mechanisms that underlie ecological observations. (Lambers et al. 1998)
- Ecophysiologists address ecological questions about the controls over growth, reproduction, survival, abundance, and geographical distribution of plants as these processes are affected by the interactions between plants and their physical, chemical, and biotic environment. (Lambers et al. 1998)
What I teach
- The common ground knowledge needed to understand the scientific literature in physiological plant ecology.
- The basic understanding of how plants function.
- Some examples of historical and recent experiments that show how knowledge has been obtained.
- Some glimpse of what tools and instruments are used in research.
Contents of the course
- Introduction
- What is physiological plant ecology?
- Contents and approach of this course.
- A gallery of examples of experiments.
- The environment of plants
- Light
- Water
- Temperature
- Plant carbon balance
- Gas exchange measurement
- Photosynthesis
- Respiration
- Adaptation and acclimation
- Water relations
- Transpiration
- Water uptake
- Regulation by stomata
- Mineral nutrition
- Macro- and micronutrients
- Mycorrhizas
- Development and growth
- Dry matter production and allocation
- Growth analysis
- Phenology
- Adaptation to cold
- Photomorphogenesis
- Interactions
- Secondary metabolism and biotic interactions
- Extreme stress conditions and global change
The main focus is on the whole plant: how physiological adaptations relate to the fitness of plants in their natural environment.