BT3230:03
Plant Ecophysiology
Townsville
Prerequisites: BT2250
Inadmissable Subject Combination: BT5024
26 lectures, 18 hours practicals, 3 days field work. Second semester.
Staff: Dr J Holtum.
An examination of interactions between plants and the physical environment. Emphasis will be on the physical, chemical and biological processes that determine plant performance and environmental tolerance.
Learning Objectives:
- to promote an understanding of the mechanisms and processes used by terrestrial plants to tolerate the constraints of growth imposed by the physical environment. It is intended to provide a rigorous development rather than a compendium of facts;
- to introduce the concept of optimisation of biological responses in relation to changing costs and benefits of resources;
- to provide both a theoretical understanding of, and a practical expertise in, the use of sophisticated methods used in modern ecophysiological research including room-temperature fluorescence, porometry, refractometry, reflectometry, remote data logging and the use of quantum sensors, pyranometers and thermocouples.
Assessment by a three-hour theory examination (70%); a report of a research project (30%).
[Contents]