Course Description
Patterns of plant distribution in contemporary landscapes and underlying processes, including vegetation dynamics, disturbance ecology, biogeomorphology, dendrochronology, and environmental history.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Additional readings, separate meetings once a week, additional test questions.
Athena Title
ECOLOG BIOGEOG
Prerequisite
GEOG 1111 or ECOL(BIOL) 3500-3500L or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall and spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
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.
Topical Outline
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