The topics of Geobotany. Causes affecting plant distribution: autoecology, climate, soil, historical events. Plant life forms (Raunkiaer) and growth forms, plant life strategies. Flora and vegetation concepts. Physiognomical, structural and floristic features of vegetation. Vegetation dynamics. Physiognomic-floristic description of the main types of Italian vegetation with focus on the Tuscan territory. Basics for using GIS software; examples of application.
PDF of PowerPoint slides showed in the lectures.Ubaldi D., 2012 – Guida allo studio della flora e della vegetazione. Clueb, Bologna.Some articles, book chapters and web documents quoted in the lectures.
Learning Objectives
Knowledge acquired: Concepts of plant diversity, flora, vegetation, endemism, vicariance, floristic territories. Factors affecting plant species and communities distribution (autoecology, climate, soil, historical events); plant life and growth forms; physiognomic and floristic-ecologic aspects of vegetation; methods for studying and mapping vegetation; vegetation dynamics; knowledge of main Italian and Tuscan vegetation types; general concepts concerning conservation of plants and habitats.Competence acquired: Understanding of principal phytogeographic notions (endemism, vicariance, relicts); understanding of patterns affecting the distribution of plant species and communities; understanding of vegetation dynamics, of physiognomic and floristic classification of plant communities, of vegetation cartography; understanding of principal conservation aspects regarding habitats and plant communities.Abilities acquired (at the end of the course):Ability to interpret the vegetation cover of a territory and to read vegetation maps; ability to collect phisiognomical and floristic vegetation data in the field; competence in interpreting the collected data in terms of dynamic and conservation aspects.
Prerequisites
Courses to be used as requirements (required and/or recommended) Courses recommended: Botany I, Botany II, Ecology
Teaching Methods
Frontal lessons.Total hours of the course (including the time spent in attending lectures, seminars, private study, examinations, etc...): 75Hours spent in private study and other individual learning activities: 50Contact hours for: Lectures (hours): 25
Further information
Lecture attendance: Not required but recommended
Type of Assessment
Oral exam, also based on possible interpretation and comments of vegetation data and/or maps
Course program
Brief history of plant ecology. The topics of Geobotany. Brief notes on chorology, endemism, vicariance. Plant diversity in the world and in Europe; Italian vascular floras. Causes affecting plant distribution. Autoecology, environmental factors and plant distribution. Main indicator values: light, temperature, water needs, soil pH, soil nutrients. Ellenberg-Pignatti Indicator Values. Other factors with direct action: resistance to cut, wind, trampling, grazing, fire. Adaptations to other edaphic factors (glareophytes, casmophytes, comophytes, glycophytes, halophytes); pollination and dispersal. Climate classification and plants. Bioclimate. Phytoclimatic maps. European and Mediterranean vegetation belts. Plants and soils. Soil characteristics, humus types. Duchaufour classification of soils and related vegetation types. Physiognomical, structural and floristic characteristics of vegetation. Plant life forms (Raunkiaer), biological spectrum. Growth forms, classification and main types. Plant life strategies, r-k model and C-S-R model (Grime). Main physiognomic vegetation types. Outlines of silvicultural treatment of forests. Flora and vegetation concepts. Physiognomic, floristic and structural aspects of vegetation. Phytocoenosis definition and identification in the field. The principal methods used in vegetation surveys and vegetation mapping. Vegetation dynamics, successions, species interactions, facilitation, inhibition, tolerance. Potential Natural Vegetation, dynamic and static climax. Description of the main types of Italian vegetation with focus on the Tuscan territory (Mediterranean vegetation: forests, matorrals and shrublands, vegetation of sand dunes, rocky coasts, halophilous coenoses. Lowland relict forests, hilly and submontane vegetation, mountain and subalpine vegetation, shrublands and grasslands. Rocky and scree vegetation, marshes and bogs. Riparian vegetation). Vegetation mapping, physiognomic and floristic methods. Photointerpretation, scale, grain, extension. CORINE Land Cover program, land use, derived vegetation maps, habitat maps. The habitat concept of European Community and its importance in conservation. Notes on CORINE Biotopes classification, EUNIS classification, Natura 2000 program and conservation of plant and habitat diversity.Introduction to GIS for multidisciplinary activity of last year. Software open-source Q-GIS. Reference systems, vectors and rasters, shapefiles, orthophotos, creation and management of polygons. Preparing a basic vegetation map and a legend. GPS use and how to import data from GPS to GIS.