Successful completion of this course will provide the following learning outcomes:

A basic understanding of physical and biological processes that influence the 
spatial expression of vegetation at local and regional scales

An appreciation of the diversity of life and its linkages with physical systems of
the environment

An awareness of the dynamic nature of ecological systems, with emphasis on
disturbance regimes and patterns of vegetation recovery

An ability to recognize the reciprocal interactions between human action,
modification of the biosphere, and past/future global environmental change

A greater cognizance of the importance of science in the everyday functioning of our
planet, and its crucial role in informing conservation policy and decision making 


This course meets the following General Education Abilities by accomplishing the
specific learning objectives listed below:

Communicate effectively through writing.  This is met by a series of writing 
assignments associated with supplemental reading and data analysis.
 
Communicate effectively through speech.  This is met by oral presentations, 
discussion leading, and classroom participation.

Computer Literacy is addressed through course administration, student-faculty 
electronic interaction, and data analysis activities and assignments.

Critical Thinking is central to the learning objectives of this class, and is
developed through homework assignments, lecture, classroom discussion, and inquiry-
based learning efforts.
       
Moral Reasoning (Ethics) is an important element of this course, as it explores 
linkages among the physical environment, hazards, human health and welfare, and 
appropriate technologies.  Moral reasoning is developed through lectures, writing 
assignments, classroom discussion, and inquiry-based learning activities.

Basic plant requirements
Light and temperature
Water and nutrients
Vegetation-environment relationships
   Vegetation data: Vegetation sampling basics
Nature of plant communities
Primary and secondary succession / early concepts
Modifications of early concepts of succession / population growth models
r- and K-selection / successional trends
Shifting mosaic steady-state concept
   Vegetation data: Field data collection
Compositional models of succession
Population size and age structures
Environmental influences on vegetation dynamics
Multiple successional pathways
   Vegetation data: Density, dominance, and importance value
Disturbance and patch dynamics
Attributes of disturbance regimes
   Vegetation data: Diversity measures
Fire and fire behavior
Fire properties and types
Fire ecology and suppression
   Vegetation data: Ordination techniques
Fire regimes and landscape dynamics
Windstorms
Biogeomorphology: General principles
Biogeomorphology: Floods and riparian environments
   Fieldtrip: North Georgia Mountains
Biogeomorphology: Mass wasting and alluvial fans
Biogeomorphology: Coastal environments
Biogeomorphology: Glaciated landscapes
Paleo-environmental reconstruction
Holocene environmental history