Course Description
F/RS 310 is a core course in the Forest and Rangeland Stewardship Department and is cross-listed as both a Forestry (F) and Rangeland Ecology (RS) course. I teach this course every semester and all Forestry, Rangeland Ecology, and Natural Resource majors are required to take this course. In this course I provide an overview of the primary functional attributes of different plant functional groups (eg. evergreen gymnosperms, deciduous angiosperms, C3 grasses, C4 grasses, etc.) that create the community structure of ecosystems in North America. Once students have an understanding of the adaptations plants within these functional groups possess, we discuss the major ecosystem types that are dominated by the different plant functional groups. Lectures involve introductions to new topics interspersed with multi-media presentations and active-learning opportunities that help students master the new material. There is also a lab component to this course, which I utilize to reinforce lecture topics with hands-on experiments, data analyses, and literature surveys. These activities are designed to provide students an opportunity to explore topics in more detail and require written reports to ensure they are able to properly interpret/explain topics and aid in enhancing their communication skills. Exams include True/False, Multiple choice answers and short answer questions (which often include interpreting data figures). Short answer questions are typically associated with figures and maps to ensure students can correctly interpret and explain the quantitative information we cover in class.
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Assignment Descriptions