Transcript Introduction

Plant Ecology
An introduction
Ecology as a Science
Study of the relationships
between living organisms and
their environment
Of the interactions of
organisms with one another
Of the patterns and causes of
the abundance and distribution
of organisms
Ecology as a Science
We’ll use the perspective of
terrestrial plants
Basic ecology - ecological
principles
Applied ecology - application
of principles to practical
problems
Not about advocacy, activism,
or “warm fuzzies”
Ecology as a Science
Ecology is only one way of
knowing about the world
Based on the weight of
credible, repeatable evidence
Hard facts (how many
species, how does it function)
versus aesthetics, opinions (Is it
beautiful?)
1.1 The scientific method
Patterns
Processes
Theories
Table 1.1
Diversity of Ecological Evidence
1) Observations (descriptive data)
Careful monitoring within the natural environment to
detect patterns
1.3 Repeated observations can reveal information not apparent from one or a few observations (1)
Lake Mendota, WI
1.3 Repeated observations can reveal information not apparent from one or a few observations (2)
1.3 Repeated observations can reveal information not apparent from one or a few observations (3)
Diversity of Ecological Evidence
2) Field experiments
Manipulative experiments in the field to establish
cause of observed patterns
1.2 Large-scale manipulative experiments at the Konza Prairie Research Natural Area (Part 1)
1.2 Large-scale manipulative experiments at the Konza Prairie Research Natural Area (Part 2)
Diversity of Ecological Evidence
3) Laboratory experiments
Controlled conditions
Simplified system
Address specific questions
Diversity of Ecological Evidence
4) Mathematical modeling
Computer-aided
1.4 Ecologists study patterns and processes across a wide range of scales in space and time
Scale important because of heterogeneity of habitats
1.5 The environment in a microhabitat can differ from conditions in the surrounding area
Microclimate
1.6 H.M.S. Beagle sailed from England December 27, 1831, on a five-year mission
Beginnings of plant ecology as the study of natural history
Founder of the field of Plant Ecology - J. Eugenius Warming
Plant ecology emerges in
mid- to late-1800s
Plant communities
(synecology)
Species,individual
adaptation (autecology)
Further advances in mid-1900s
Functional ecology,
physiological ecology,
plant population biology
Recent rise of landscape
ecology, conservation
ecology
Why do we care?
Conservation,
preservation, restoration
of biodiversity and
ecosystem functions
Food supply agroecology