B029165 - Vegetation science and conservation and management of vegetation resources

Italian

Section Veg.Sci: Knowledge acquired: The species concept in phytogeography, taxonomy and systematic groups. Chorology, endemism, vicariance, floristic territories. Factors affecting plant species and community distribution (climate, soil, ecology, history of European flora); flora and vegetation; plant biological and growth forms; physiognomic and floristic-ecologic vegetation aspects; methods for classifying vegetation; vegetation dynamics; general outlines of landscape phytosociology and landscape ecology; knowledge of main Italian and Tuscan vegetation types; general concepts concerning conservation of plants and habitats. Competence acquired: Understanding principal phytogeographic notions (endemism, vicariance, relicts); understanding patterns affecting the distribution of plant species and communities; understanding of vegetation dynamics, of phytosociological classification of plant communities and of vegetated landscape; understanding vegetation maps; understanding 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 physiognomic, phytosociological and statistical vegetation data in the field; competence in analyzing and interpreting the collected data.
Section Cons.Ris.Veg: Knowledge of the evolution of the concept of conservation especially in relation to the changing paradigms in the ecological theories Understanding of the major threats at the Biosfera level that threaten the plant resources; Understanding of the major problems affecting plants species and habitat distribution and consistence; Skills to allocate and characterize the major connections among anthropogenic activities, the local populations of plant species and habitats; evaluating the local resources of plants and habitats; evaluating the major threats and delineating priorities of intervention

Section Veg.Sci: Chorology, endemism, floristic territories. Causes affecting plant distribution. The principal methods used in vegetation surveys. Vegetation classification, dynamism and mapping. Notes to the study of plant landscape.
Section Cons.Ris.Veg: The contents of this section aim to identify problems for the conservation of plant resources, trying to answer the questions: Why, What, Where and How to conserve, considering technical and legislative aspects.

Section Veg.Sci: Courses to be used as requirements (required and/or recommended) - Courses recommended: Botany I, Botany II, Ecology, Laboratory of plant ecology.
Section Cons.Ris.Veg: Botanica, Ecologia, Vegetation Science

Section Veg.Sci: Total hours of the course (including the time spent in attending lectures, seminars, private study, examinations, etc...): 150. Hours spent in private study and other individual learning activities: 90. Contact hours for: Lectures (hours): 35. Contact hours for: Laboratory-field/practice (hours): 25.
Section Cons.Ris.Veg: LecturesSeminarsLaboratory-field practice

Section Veg.Sci: Oral exam, also based on interpretation and comments of vegetation tables and/or maps.
Section Cons.Ris.Veg: Group work around an issue that concerns the management of the plant resources of a site visited during the field work. The performance of this part of the examination will take place through the creation of a presentation. Single evaluation through discussion of the issues raised in the work group.

Section Veg.Sci: Historical introduction. The species concept in phytogeography, taxonomy and systematic groups. Chorology, extent of occurrence and area of occupancy, endemism, classification of endemism, vicariance, floristic territories of Takhtajan and Cox. Flora and vegetation concepts. The causes of plant distribution. Vegetation belts. The European flora history up to the post-glacial period. Physiognomical, structural and floristic characteristics of vegetation. Vegetation physiognomy and vegetation formation types. Description of the main types of Italian vegetation with focus on the Tuscan territory. The principal methods for carrying out vegetation surveys. The floristic-ecological approach, the vegetation association and the phytosociological approach. Outline of the methods of classification and ordering of phytosociological data. The syntaxonomical classification. Outlines of vegetation mapping. The importance of vegetation in defining habitats of conservation interest. General conservation aspects regarding plant species and communities. Outline of the rigorous statistical approach to the study of vegetation. The vegetation dynamism (theories of Clements, Gleason, Tansley, Shifting mosaic steady-state model, the climax concept and the potential natural vegetation, static and dynamic climax). The vegetated landscape: historical background, definition and limits. The phytosociological approach to the study of landscape: synphytosociology and geosynphytosociology. General principles and methods of Landscape Ecology: patches, corridors, matrix; scale, grain, extension; landscape aspects and biodiversity.
Section Cons.Ris.Veg: Introduction to the Biosphere problems with particular reference to the plant. Atmospheric pollution and plants. Climate change. The exploitation of tropical forests. The biological invasion of alien species. Why to conserve. The values of nature with particular reference to the values of the plant component. Worth and Value. Biodiversity: Issues in the application of the term. The science of preservation choices. From the protection of the conservation and the management of plant resources. What to conserve, where to conserve and how to conserve: the three main questions that attempts to answer the Science of Conservation. Species (populations), habitats, landscapes: three levels of the hierarchy of nature to which pay attention. The rare and vulnerable species: connections and differences. Some scales of vulnerability. The IUCN categories. The Red List. Problems in applying the parameters required by the IUCN. Some examples of plant species. Habitats: concepts and issues. The worthy of preservation under the Habitats Directive. The position of the EEC and the Region of Tuscany: two examples of choices of what and where to keep. The problems of how to conserve. Relations between "technics and science of conservation." The red Landscapes. The example of the Mediterranean. Ager -saltus-sylva- and dehesa-montado. α-, β- and γ- diversity and the two different management models

Section Veg.Sci: PDF of PowerPoint slides showed in the lectures. Zunino M., Zullini A., 2004 – Biogeografia (2a ed.). CEA, Milano. Ubaldi D., 2012 – Guida allo studio della flora e della vegetazione. Clueb, Bologna. Pignatti S. (ed.), 1995 - Ecologia vegetale. UTET, Torino. Some articles, book chapters and web documents quoted in the lectures.
Section Cons.Ris.Veg: Slides, PDF, provided during the lectures. Biondi E., Blasi C. 2010 Manuale Italiano di interpretazione degli habitat della Direttiva 92/43/CEE. http://vnr.unipg.it/habitat/index.jsp Blasi C. et al. (Eds.) 2009 A thematic contribution to the National Biodiversity Strategy - Mapping the Important Plant Areas in Italy. Ministry for the Environment Land and Sea Protection Nature Protection Directorate, Palombi & Partner S.r.l., RomeHunter M. L., Jr., Gibbs J. P. 2006 Fundamentals of Conservation Biology, 3rd Edition Wiley-BlackwellIUCN, 2013. Guidelines for using of IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 6.1. http://app.iucn.org/webfiles/doc/SCC/RedList/RedListGuideline.pdf.Ladle R.J. & Whittaker R.J. 2011 Conservation Biogeography. Wiley-Blackwell.

Lecture, practice and lab attendance:Not required but recommended