Læringsmål

The aim of this course is to provide the students with insight into environmental conditions of Scandinavian mountain areas. This includes abiotic factors such as geology and climatic factors as well as human influence, both in space and time. Emphasis will be on alpine plants, animals and ecosystems and their relation to the alpine environments. The variation in alpine ecosystems will be demonstrated through excursions to different alpine areas, and the students will get training in identification of alpine plants and sampling of scientific data.

Innhold

The following topics will be covered:

• Alpine soil
• Mountain climate
• Identification of alpine plants
• Gradients in plant distribution
• Primary succession in glacier forelands
• Biotic impacts on alpine vegetation
• Physiological adaptions of alpine plants
• Alpine vegetation, production and phenology
• Aquatic ecology
• Terrestrial animal/bird populations

Organisering

Lectures, excursions, and lab.courses.
35 h lectures, 5 days excursions 5 h laboratory work.
Teaching medium is English.

The students will be charged for some expenses for transport and housing during the excursions.

Vurderingsformer

Group project (report) ;Species exam (25%); individual, written 4-hour final examination (75%).

Det tas forbehold om mindre justeringer i planen.