Study-unit VEGETATION SCIENCE
| Course name | Biological sciences |
|---|---|
| Study-unit Code | GP003057 |
| Curriculum | Ambientale - naturalistico |
| Lecturer | Corrado Marceno' |
| Lecturers |
|
| Hours |
|
| CFU | 6 |
| Course Regulation | Coorte 2022 |
| Supplied | 2024/25 |
| Supplied other course regulation | |
| Learning activities | Affine/integrativa |
| Area | Attività formative affini o integrative |
| Sector | BIO/03 |
| Type of study-unit | Opzionale (Optional) |
| Type of learning activities | Attività formativa monodisciplinare |
| Language of instruction | Italian |
| Contents | In the first part of the course, I will introduce the concept of environmental variables and, therefore, the biotic and abiotic factors that contribute to determining the different compositions of plant communities. I will introduce the concepts of life forms, traits, and chorotypes and how these can be used as indicators. Students will have the opportunity to carry out surveys in the field by recording the vegetation data and the environmental variables. In the second part of the course, I will introduce the concept of phytosociology with a brief excursus on the history of vegetation. Finally, the main classes of vegetation in Europe will be shown with a particular emphasis on the Umbrian territory. The course will be accompanied by vegetation cartography laboratories using the open-source QGIS and laboratories on data storage and processing. |
| Reference texts | - Lecture notes - JUICE: https://www.sci.muni.cz/botany/juice/JUICEman_all.pdf - QGIS: https://docs.qgis.org/3.10/it/docs/user_manual/index.html - TURBOVEG: https://www.synbiosys.alterra.nl/turboveg/tvwin.pdf |
| Educational objectives | At the end of the course, students will acquire the keys for reading and interpreting the landscape. Students will be able to apply different methodologies to data vegetation sampling and environmental variables, directly in the field or to use national and international databases to recover them. Students will also be able to perform data storing, classification, and analysis of vegetation data. Particular attention will be given to the vegetation of the Umbria region. |
| Prerequisites | There are no prerequisites to take the course. |
| Teaching methods | - Traditional lectures, supported by PPT images, accompanied by interactive teaching. - Fieldwork - Lab-based course on QGIS - Lab-based course on data-storing usingTURBOVEG. - Lab-based course on vegetation data analysis using JUICE |
| Other information | - |
| Learning verification modality | Final oral exam: Students will have to answer questions on the topics covered during the course and field activities |
| Extended program | Environmental Variables: Biotic and Abiotic Factors. Solar Radiation, Temperature, Air Humidity, Precipitation, Pressure, and Winds. Bioclimatic Indices. Climate Diagrams. Climate Classifications. Bioclimates of Italy. Climate and Vegetation. Substrate and Soil. The Basic Processes of Pedogenesis. Profiles and Horizons. Soil Distribution According to Latitude. Flora: General Concepts, Floristic Diversity. Biological Forms (the Raunkiaer System). Chorotypes. Exotic Species. Traits. Phytosociology: The Quali-Quantitative Approach. General Concepts, Methods, Plant Associations. Competition and Disturbance. History of Vegetation. Territorial Articulation: General Concepts, Vegetation Zones, Altitudinal Belts. Successions. Vegetation in Europe. Vegetation of Umbria. Vegetation Cartography: Vegetation Distribution in the Territory. Actual and Potential Vegetation Maps. Construction of Vegetation Maps. Cartographic Bases. Data Storing and Data Processing. |
| Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile | Goal 15: Life on Land |