Ecology of Natural Forest 1400-216PELN
The course "Ecology of natural forest" includes issues of biogeography (distribution of different types of forests on the planet, climate and geological factors determining the range of forests), forest geobotany (forest-building tree species in Poland, the factors determining species composition and size of the trees in the forest and their survival) plant ecology (life strategies of trees), and in particular the wider ecology of forest ecosystems (the ability of trees to modify environmental conditions; dead wood in the forest - its characteristics, classification, role of the ecological quality; role of natural disturbances in the functioning of forest ecosystems: fires, insect outbreaks, climatic factors, mosaic cycle theory, the importance of temporal and spatial scales for understanding of the ecosystem functioning, the mechanisms of invasion and migration of organisms in forest ecosystems). The course includes 30 hours of lectures at the Faculty of Biology in the fall semester and 60 hours of field labs, which take place in the only Polish forest of natural character - the Bialowieza Forest in the first decade of July. During the lectures, students will receive theoretical basis for understanding the functioning of forest ecosystems. Field classes teach the basic measurement techniques allowing to study forest ecosystems. During the field classes students learn to recognize native species of trees and shrubs. High attention during lectures and field exercises is paid to the characteristics of natural forest and its performance in comparison to the regular forest managed for economical needs.
Type of course
Mode
Prerequisites (description)
Course coordinators
Assessment criteria
The lecture ends with an examination in the form of a test of single choice questions and multiple choice questions (40% of the total number of questions each) supplemented with open questions (about 20% of the questions).
Field classes end with credit, which consists of the presentation of the measurements carried out during the course and interpretation of the results and the test of determination of the native species of trees and shrubs.
Practical placement
None
Bibliography
Crowe P.R. 1987. Problemy klimatologii ogólnej. Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Warszawa, 600 pp. (rozdział "Zmiany klimatu")
Czerwiński A. 1978. Zbiorowiska leśne północno-wschodniej Polski. - w rozdziale "Teren badań" polodowcowe zmiany klimatu i roślinności
Elton C.S. 1967. Ekologia inwazji zwierząt i roślin. PWRiL, Warszawa.
Faliński J. B. 1986. Vegetation dynamics in temperate lowland primeval forests. Ecological studies in Białowieża Forest. Geobotany 8. Dr W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/Lancaster.
Faliński J.B. 2004. Inwazje w świecie roślin: mechanizmy, zagrożenia, projekt badań. Phytocoenosis (N.S.) 16, Sem. Geobot 10: 1-32.
Gutowski J. M., Bobiec A., Pawlaczyk P., Zub K. 2004. Drugie życie drzewa. WWF, Hajnówka-Białowieża.
Silva Fennica vol. 45(5). 2011. Northern Primeval Forests - Ecology, Conservation and Management.
Kornaś J., Medwecka-Kornaś A. 1986. Geografia roślin. PWN, Warszawa. - formy życiowe Raunkiaera
Obidziński A. 2001. Zaburzenie jako element dynamiki lasu. Sylwan, 5: 51-59.
Podbielkowski Z., Podbielkowska M. 1992. Przystosowania roślin do środowiska. Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne, Warszawa. - rozdział "Rozprzestrzenianie się roślin".
Pullin A. 2004. Biologiczne podstawy ochrony przyrody. PWN, Warszawa.
Ralska-Jasiewiczowa M. 1991. Ewolucja szaty roślinnej. Strony 106-127 w: Starkel L. red. Geografia Polski. Środowisko przyrodnicze. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa.
Seneta W., Dolatowski J. 2000. Dendrologia. PWN, Warszawa.
Starkel L. i Ralska-Jasiewiczowa M. 1991. Zmiany klimatu i stosunków wodnych w holocenie. Strony 177-182 w: Starkel L. red. Geografia Polski. Środowisko przyrodnicze. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa.
Szafer W., Zarzycki K. (red.) 1977. Szata roślinna Polski t.1. PWN, Warszawa. - rozdział "Roślinność holocenu".
Szwagrzyk J. 2000. Rozległe naturalne zaburzenia w ekosystemach leśnych: ich zasięg, charakter i znaczenie dla dynamiki lasu. Wiad. Ekol. XLVI, 1: 3 - 19.
Walter H. 1976. Strefy roślinności a klimat. PWRiL, Warszawa.
Walther G.-R. 2002. Weakening of climatic constraints with global warming and its consequences for evergreen broad-leaved species. Folia Geobotanica 37,1: 129-139.
Wejner J. 1999, 2003. Życie i ewolucja biosfery. PWN, Warszawa.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: