NR 491C / NR 595C
2 credit hours
Ben Franklin tree
(Franklinia alatamaha) |
"We share the
earth with at least 5 million — perhaps as many as 30 million
— species of organisms. About 235,000 of these species are
flowering plants and about 325,000 are nonflowering plants such
as lichens, mosses and seaweeds. All are important parts of the
web of life, contributing to the fragile green mantle clothing
our planet. This mantle is essential to life, and we depend on
plants for our survival."
— David R. Given,
Principles and Practice of Plant Conservation
|
Time and location:
11:20 a.m. - 12:10 p.m., Mondays and Wednesdays
Instructor:
Kevin Potter
3003 Biltmore Hall
kpotter@ncsu.edu
Course Overview:
The United States hosts a remarkable floristic
diversity of roughly 20,000 native species. According to the Center
for Plant Conservation, nearly one-fifth of these species are of conservation
concern, including 780 likely to be vulnerable to extinction in the
next decade. For several of these species, rarity has resulted from
natural processes, while others are threatened by exotic pests or pathogens,
or by direct human impacts. This course will examine the factors that
cause plants to be rare or imperiled, and the strategies employed to
improve their long-term viability.
Course Goals:
By the end of this course, students should be
able to:
1) recognize
the natural and human-caused factors that cause plant species to be
rare or imperiled,
2) generate
a conservation strategy for a rare or imperiled plant species, and
3) apply
ecological and population genetics principles to evaluate the long-term
viability of such a plant species with and without conservation measures.
Course Prerequisites:
| This course is designed for
upper-level undergraduate students, and for graduate students. No
specific prerequisite courses are required, but students should
have a basic understanding of botany, forest ecology, forest management,
and genetics. |
American chestnut
(Castanea dentata)
|
Required text:
Given, David R. 1994. Principles and Practice
of Plant Conservation. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. 292 pp.
Schedule:
Part 1: Overview of plant diversity,
conservation biology, and population genetics
Objectives:
At the end of this section of the class, students should be able to
1) discuss whether it is important
to conserve plant species and why, 2)
explain central concepts of conservation biology and conservation genetics,
and 3) describe the genetic impacts
of small population size.
Part 2: Reasons plants are rare
and imperiled
Objectives:
At the end of this section of the class, students should be able to
1) explain the natural and human-related
reasons that plants are rare and imperiled, and 2)
give examples of rare or imperiled plants and to discuss the reason
for their rarity or endangerment.
Part 3: Conservation of rare or
imperiled plant species
Objectives:
At the end of this section of the class, students should be able to
1) determine how to structure a
conservation strategy for a rare or imperiled plant species, and 2)
explain the details of on-site and off-site approaches to plant conservation.
Part 4: Plant restoration, recovery,
and regulation
Objectives:
At the end of this section of the class, students should be able to
1) describe plant restoration and
recovery strategies, 2) discuss
plant regulatory efforts at the state and national level, and 3)
assess the success of plant restoration and regulatory efforts.
Part 5: Future of rare and imperiled
plants
Objectives:
At the end of this section of the class, students should be able to
1) outline a conservation strategy
for an imperiled or rare plant species, and 2)
discuss ways in which to target plant conservation efforts in the light
of future climate change and other threats.
Grading:
Midterm exam: 30%
Paper: 30%
Class presentation: 20%
Class participation/attendance: 20%
Field trips:
This class will include will include two field
trips to the location of rare or threatened tree populations: one locally,
and one to the Coastal Plain.
Class presentation/paper:
| A significant learning experience
during the course of the semester will be the completion by each
student of a proposed conservation strategy for a rare and/or imperiled
plant species. This project will 1)
describe the species in question, its distribution, and its economic
uses and ecological importance, 2)
explain the factors that make the species rare and/or imperiled,
3) outline what, if any, steps
are being undertaken to conserve the species in question, and 4)
recommend how to ensure the future viability of the species. |
Venus' fly trap
(Dionaea muscipula) |
This assessment will be presented in two formats:
a class presentation near the end of the semester, and a paper due at
the end of the semester. The class presentation will be an opportunity
for students to hone their public presentation skills, and to listen
to input that can be used to improve the paper.
Students will be expected to conduct a thorough
scientific literature search about their species, and to be able to
present their findings in a non-scientific format to a general audience.
