Download Forest Community Ecology

Biology, ecology
Forest Community Ecology
Department of Biology
Prof. Dr. Petras Kurlavicius
Studentų 39, Vilnius LT-08106, Room 227, tel. +370 85
32652, [email protected]
English
Language of Instruction
General Ecology
Required Prerequisites
Suggested Academic Cycle Bachelor degree studies (from 2nd year of studies)
or Year of Studies
Autumn/Spring
Semester
5
ECTS Credits
4
Contact Hours per Week
Elective
Compulsory/ Elective
Lectures, seminars and individual consultations
Methods of Teaching
Form of Assessment
2 papers (20+30), individual essay 30, final test 20
Title of the Study Program
Title of the Module
Faculty, Department
Instructor
Address
Course Description
The course is a detailed and thorough investigation of theory and empirical studies of forest
communities (mostly of plant and animal) including methodology, community structure, diversity,
succession, interactions within species, between species, and between species and their environment
influence to community structure, and links to ecosystem function.
The main objective of the course is to provide the framework for understanding the main
concepts and theories of forest community ecology, while familiarizing students with the important
theoretical and empirical research in the field.
Most attention would be paid to (the course topics): defining of the basic traits of plant
community, species diversity and richness, predation, parasitism, food webs and indirect effects,
regional patterns in species diversity and abundance, species area relationship, island biogeography,
habitat selection in animal, community assembly theory, ecological succession, community
stability, patchiness and disturbance as well as methods of sampling the forest communities.
This course will develop understanding of the forest community ecology, which is necessary
to sound decisions in natural resource management and biodiversity conservation. In addition,
through classroom and field study, the course will develop knowledge and skills in the application
of this theory to understanding and interpreting the ecology of real forest settings. On the
completion of the course students will increase understanding of basic ecological concepts and
terminology.
The course is a combination of class and field meetings. Class meetings will focus on a
weekly topic through lecture, primary literature readings, discussion, student presentations, and
written essays. Field trips will apply topics studied in the class room to forest settings. Field
observations and collected data will be the subject of alternate-week lab reports.
Readings
1. James P. Kimmins. 2004. Forest Ecology: a foundation for sustainable forest management
and environmental ethics in forestry, 3rd Edit. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA.
2. Gurevitch, J, SM Scheiner, GA Fox. 2006. The Ecology of Plants. Sinauer Associates, Inc.,
Sunderland, MA.
3. Philip Joseph Burton. 2003. Towards sustainable management of the boreal forest.
4. Bailey, J.K. and Whitham, T.G. 2002. Interactions among fire, aspen, and elk affect insect
diversity: reversal of a community response. Ecology 83(6): 1701-1712.