Management and Conservation of Terrestrial Plant Communities and Agro-Forestry Systems

Code: BIO08103M

6 ECTS

Duration: 15 weeks/162 hours

Scientific Area: Biology

Teaching languages: Portuguese

Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese

Sustainable Development Goals

Educação de qualidade - Assegurar a educação inclusiva, e equitativa e de qualidade, e promover oportunidades de aprendizagem ao longo da vida para todos.

Learning Goals

To describe the abiotic and biotic factors that influence terrestrial plant communities and how do they reflect that influence through the development of different plant communities, in particular concerning climate constraints and their variation in space and time. To approach the management principles and practices for plant community conservation and/or close-to-nature sustainable management of natural communities and agroforestry systems. To understand the effects of human disturbances in plant communities and the methods to minimize and mitigate their effects. To teach the main principles and methods related to ecosystem conservation and restoration.

Module 1: Bioclimatic and biogeographic context of Portuguese vegetation; methods of vegetation study.
1. Bioclimatology and biogeography: history and concepts;
2. Biomes;
3. Methods of vegetation study.

Module 2: Vegetation conservation and plant mapping.
1. Plant mapping;
2. Biodiversity, vegetation management and conservation;
3. International Conventions, European Regulations, agri-environmental and forest-environment measures.

Module 3: Agroforestry systems.
1. Concepts and typologies;
2. Hydrological balance and nutrient cycling;
3. Silvopastoral systems: community rural areas as a case study.

Module 4: Restoration and rehabilitation of vegetation and plant communities.
1. Degradation factors;
2. Restoration methods; Phytoremediation;
3. Case studies (riparian galleries; wild fires; weed control; sand dunes; phytoremediation)

Teaching Methods

Teaching methodology is mainly the explaining method, complemented with application exercises and field tours. In each module the student assessment will be performed through literature reviews / practical applications (presented in class), and / or through tests on the subject of the module. Final classification, expressed in a 0-20 rating, will be the average of module assessments; a minimum of 7.5 in each module and a final average of 9.5 will be needed for approval, but attendant students may use a final examination (total or by modules) to obtain approval or to improve the final classification.