LPLK10382U Advanced Plant Ecophysiology

Volume 2019/2020
Education

MSc Programme in Agriculture
MSc Programme in Environmental Science

Content

What is Plant Ecophysiology?

Plant Ecophysiology is the study of how plants sense, respond and adapt to variable environmental conditions.

Course topics: In the Advanced Plant Ecophysiology course we focus on plant responses to environmental stress including climate change and adverse soil conditions.

We will focus on natural terrestrial ecosystems as well as cultivated systems used for commercial plant production. The key-topics of the course are trained through a balanced combination of lectures and theoretical and practical exercises. We will work primarily on contemporary biological cases, linked to the global concerns regarding climate change and soil deterioration.

 

Examples of specific course topics are:

- Plant ecophysiology and stress responses

- Growth strategies: Why do some plant species grow faster than others?

- The impacts of climate change on photosynthesis and respiration

- The role of plant nutrients in adaptation to environmental stress

- The impacts of climate change on nutrient uptake and assimilation

- Resistance of plants towards drought and flooding

- Tolerance to acidic, alkaline and saline soils

- Contaminated soils and phytoremediation

- Interactions between plant roots and soil microorganisms

- Allelopathy and defence against herbivores

 

Learning Outcome

After completion of the course students will have gained:
 

Knowledge:

An advanced understanding of how the environment influence plant growth at various levels of integration, from the molecular and single cell levels to the whole plant level. An advanced understanding of plant adaptation to adverse environments and climate change will be achieved.

Skills:

To assess the impact of changes in the environment on plant growth. To use the concepts of plant stress responses to understand the mechanisms involved in plant adaptation and acclimation to adverse conditions and climate change.

Competences:

The student will obtain key competences within nature management and will be able to evaluate the conditions for plant growth in natural ecosystems. In addition, competences to evaluate and suggest strategies for improved plant tolerance towards climate change and adverse environmental conditions by e.g. plant breeding and biotechnology will be developed.

Literature

Lambers, Chapin and Pons, 2008, Plant Physiological Ecology, 
2nd edition, Springer.

Pdf files of all chapters can be downloaded from www.springerlink.com via the university library.

Recent journal papers will beincluded where relevant

 

Prior knowledge of plant physiology – of particular relevance are the courses “Planters Økofysiology”, “Advanced Plant Biology” and “Plant Nutrition and Soil Fertility”.

Academic qualifications equivalent to a BSc degree is recommended.
The course will consist of lectures, theoretical and practical exercises based on research data or relevant cases, solved individually or in groups for each topic.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Exam
  • 10
  • Lectures
  • 48
  • Practical exercises
  • 28
  • Preparation
  • 88
  • Theory exercises
  • 32
  • Total
  • 206
Oral
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester
Feedback by final exam (In addition to the grade)
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Oral examination, 20 min
30 min preparation with all aids followed by a 20 min examination.
Exam registration requirements

Minimum 75% attendance in practical exercises and approval of laboratory report prior to exam.

Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Several internal examiners
Re-exam

Oral reexamination
Minimum 75% attendance in practical exercises and approval of laboratory report prior to exam. If this is not fulfilled the student must attend the course the following year.

Criteria for exam assesment

In accordance with the learning outcomes