FS561 – Physiology of Woody Plants
Fall 2009
OBJECTIVES AND REFERENCES FOR
SEPTEMBER 29:
Course Introduction, and
Evolution and Distribution of Woody Plants
NO Required Reading - but see chapter 1 of your
text (Pallardy's book) for overview of wood, angiosperms, gymnosperms
Useful supplementary information:
Raven,
Evert and Eichhorn, 1999, Biology of Plants. (a
great general text, available in the library) Also see the associated web site at http://www.whfreeman.com/raven/
Useful
online references:
The Plant Kingdom - an introduction - a very cool animated tutorial.
It is aimed at the undergrad level
but is very nice for anyone
who would like a quick and appealing overview
The Green Kingdom
The Plant
Kingdom
"Wood"
(a nice summary of different kinds of wood structures)
Plant Tissue Systems: Dermal, Ground,
and Vascular
Plant
Meristems: An Historical Overview
Learning Objectives:
After this lecture and any supplementary
reading you find necessary, you should be able to:
- Access and use the course web site
to stay informed about expectations, requirements and assignments for this
course
- Define "wood" and give examples of
woody plants
- Describe the major divisions within
the plant kingdom (only to the level of detail provided in the lecture) and
identify which contain woody plants
- Use the following terms in a way
that demonstrates your understanding of the meanings: xylem, primary vs.
secondary xylem, phloem, vascular and non-vascular plants, lignin,
cellulose, conifer, gymnosperm, angiosperm
- Describe major differences in
structure and life history between woody and non-woody plants and speculate
(providing a rationale) how these differences in structure and
life history may relate to differences in growth and physiology (e.g., rates
of photosynthesis, acquisition of nutrients, carbon allocation, defense
against pathogens and disease, growth rates, reproduction and fecundity ….)
- Describe how the
temperature/moisture characteristics of forested biomes differ from other
biomes