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Functional Plant Ecology
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 15:29:48
Abstract
Plants adjust to their environment through plasticity and evolution. What are important morphological and physiological traits? Which ecological, biochemical and genetic processes are involved? This course presents recent research results in three fields: light perception and its role in regulating plant activity, plant invasion ecology, and life strategies of clonal plants.
Objective
Aim This course aims to give participants a thorough understanding of processes involved in plant responses to the environment, important plant traits, conditions for adaptation to take place, limitations and trade-offs, and reasons why species differ widely in ecological strategies. Participants will know topical questions for future research, the approaches and methods available for their investigation, and their relevance for environmental issues. They will gain practice in the interpretation of research results from a biological and environmental point of view.
Content
How do plants perceive their environment, and how do they use their knowledge? How is this related to their ecological behaviour? Why do plant species behave so differently? How flexible are they? Will they be able to adapt to climate change? Why do some exotic species become serious environmental problems when they invade new areas? Functional plant ecology tries to answer these questions by studying the relationships between morphological or physiological traits, plants responses to environmental factors, and patterns of plant activity in ecosystems, as well as the ecological, biochemical and genetic processes underlying these relationships. This course presents the most recent research results in the field of functional plant ecology. Detailed case studies illustrate which research approaches and techniques can be used to improve our understanding of plant functioning. Participants are actively involved in the resesarch process through the analysis of experimental data and the discussion of recent publications. Lecture topics Light perception and regulation of plant activity - Light intensity and UV radiation - Light quality and adaptation to the light environement - Modelling plant responses to light: when do plastic genotypes win? - Photoperiod and geographic distribution Advanced topics in plant invasion ecology - Patterns of plant invasion - What makes plants invasive? - What makes communities invasible? - Evolutionary change in invasive plant populations
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- DR , MSC
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture | Functional plant ecology |
|
2 h weekly |