Bot 6484 -- Physiological Plant Ecology
                         Schedule - Spring, 1996
                                    
                            Linda L. Wallace
                           Professor of Botany
                         (405) 325-6685 or 3221
                          FAX:  (405) 325-7619
                             lwallace@ou.edu
                                    
Week                          Topic

1         Introduction, course logistics, etc.
1 - 2     Energy Budget, Gates' energy balance equations, radiation instrumentation,
          climate:  global, local and micro.

3 - 5     Plant-soil water relationships.  Soil water. Water potential. Water movement into
          and through plants (catenary sequence).  Transpiration.  Plant adaptation to water
          deficits.  Halophytes. 

6 - 7     Carbon uptake.  Brief review of the biochemistry, resistance equations.  C3, C4 
          and CAM metabolism.  Sun-shade adaptations.  Quantum yield.  Environmental
          effects on Ps (light, temp., CO2)  Morphological adaptations for maximizing Ps
          within a community.

8 - 10    Carbon loss.  Dark respiration.  Coupling of respiration and growth.       
          Photorespiration.  Carbon allocation within a plant.  Translocation.  Energy
          content of plants.  Gas exchange technology.

9         SPRING BREAK

11 - 13   Mineral nutrition. Mineral uptake by plants.  The big three, N, P, and K.       
          Biological N-fixation (symbiotic and nonsymbiotic).  Mycorrhizal fungi.
          Micronutrients.  Mineral cycling within an ecosystem and within a plant.  Edaphic
          ecotypes.

14        Plants in extreme habitats.  Arctic-alpine, spring ephemerals, deserts, herbivory,
          flooding.

15 -16    Ecosystem significance of physiological processes.  Global change, production,
          landscape patterning, competition, succession.

Text:  W. Larcher, Physiological Plant Ecology, Third Edition, Springer-Verlag.

Grading:  Two exams (both take home).  100 pts. each.
          Paper Critiques (5 of student's choice) 20 pts. each
          Final proposal 100 pts.


Homework and exams:

The course will consist of approximately half lectures and half reading and discussing current
literature or chapters in Larcher.  Of the current literature we read, I am requesting that each
student pick five which are interesting to them and write a formal 1 - 2 page critique of the 
paper. 
This paper should pose and answer the following questions.

     a)  What was (were) the hypothesis(es) under consideration?
     b)  Were the methods appropriate for the consideration of this problem?  If so, how?
           If not, why not?
     c)  What were the most significant results that the author(s) found?
     d)  What was the significance of this paper in the general field of study?

These may be turned in at any time during the course of the semester or held and turned in all at
once during the last week prior to the end of the term.  However, the instructor would really be
happy if some of them showed up before then.  This would allow me to give you criticisms and
help you do a better job if necessary.  Critiques can be handed in via hardcopy or e-mail.

The questions for the take home exams will be given to the class at least 10 days prior to the due
date.  The first exam will be given on week 8; the second will be given on week 14.

The final course project is that each student will write a full-fledged proposal in strict NSF format (15 pages, max, including figures and tables).  The proposal should incorporate some sort
of mechanistic ecology into it.  Students will need to provide hardcopies to me by the end of 
week 15.  Copies will be distributed to two other students in the class who will act as readers.  The final period will be devoted to discussion of the proposals in the same format as a review
panel at NSF. 

Readers are expected to write brief (1 - 1.5 page) critiques of each proposal they read.  The
primary reader will lead the discussion and the secondary reader will add any additional comments
needed.  The only difference here is that the PI (writer) will be present during the discussion
of their work.  I hope that these proposals will actually be useful to you in terms of your own
research.  We will work out a schedule for you to hand in previews of the proposal over the
course of the semester to get feed back.

Depending on student interest we will take a field trip over spring break to the Sevilleta Long
Term Ecological Research Site in New Mexico.Schedule for Proposal Development



Week                     Proposal Activity
1 - 2          Look for general topic area.  Pick 3 possible areas with instructor approval.

3 - 4          Narrow down your topic area to one.  Discuss with instructor.

5 - 6          Develop list of hypotheses to be tested.  Discuss with instructor.

7 - 8          Discuss "mini-proposals" in class - get feedback.  Commence literature
          	 search.

8 - 10         Write literature review and hypotheses. Discuss with instructor.

11 - 13   	 Write materials and methods section. Discuss with instructor.

14 - 15   	 Polish proposal, prepare budget, make copies and distribute to primary, secondary
	        readers in class.

16        Defend proposal in front of class "panel".