72647 - Ecosystems And Plant Ecophysiology

Learning outcomes

Students will learn concepts of crop ecophysiology, and quantitative ecological processes occurring at ecosystem level. Students will gain an understanding of the complex interactions between plants and their environment and of the use efficiency of resources. All these knowledge will allow the students to understand how to design sustainable horticultural crop systems.

Course contents

a) Prerequisites

Students taking this class must possess strong bases in biology and botany, in addition to knowledge of arboriculture, agrometeorology, chemistry, biochemistry and soil chemistry, to properly understand the subjects addressed here, which relate to advanced fruit growing aspects. Students must also possess knowledge in organic chemistry and physics to understand the water relations of the tree and its interactions with the environment. These prerequisites are obtained during the first level degree.

Combining basic knowledge with the capacity of identifying and managing highly efficient and sustainable fruit production methods is paramount in the making of a modern, sustainable fruit growing specialist.

b) Teaching units

MODULE A) PLANT ECOPHYSIOLOGY

The module is made up of 6 main teaching units:

1. Tree water relations (Teaching unit lenght 4 hours): water potentials; training system effect on water potentials; environment conditions and water potentials.
2. Tree-Light relations (Teaching unit lenght 6 hours): physical properties of light; methods to measure light in the orchard; biochemical aspects; biological aspects; the effect of growing practices on tree-light interactions; orchard design.
3. Photosynthetic efficiency (Teaching unit lenght 6 hours): photosynthesis - why and how to measure it; photosynthetic parameters; environment effects on tree photosynthesis; light excess and consequences on primary photoproductivity; photo-oxidation, water-water cycle and photorespiration.
4. Growth (Teaching unit lenght 6 hours): definition; parameters to express growth and their relevance to the study of growth; sampling methods and data processing; fruit growth models; cell demography and fruit growth; effect of time of thinning on the growth of fruit; thinning strategies and environment effects on fruit growth.
5. The flows of fresh and dry matter that allow fruit growth (Teaching unit lenght 4 hours): measurement methods; importance of phenological stages; the xylem contribution to fruit growth; the phloem contribution to fruit growth; the role of transpiration in fruit growth; a typical daily growth in apple, peach and kiwifruit.
6. Precision fruit growing (Teaching unit lenght 4 hours): theory; analytical approaches; the peach case study.

MODULE B) CROP ECOSYSTEMS

The course focuses on the functioning of crop systems under different managements and environmental conditions. Findings from recent research will be given as examples to illustrate how ecosystems respond to agricultural practices.

The course aims at scaling up from single plant to ecosystem physiology, offering the student knowledge on the use of resources for a sustainable production.

Main topics:

1. Ecosystem concept and terminology (Teaching unit length 2 hours) :

   Boundaries of the ecosystem

   Turnover rate, residence time

   Resistance, resilience, feedback mechanisms

2. Energy and radiation (Teaching unit length 6 hours):

   Short and long wave radiation

   The radiation path from the atmosphere to the soil

   Energy and radiation balances

   External energy input in the production system

3. Carbon cycle (Teaching unit length 8 hours):

   Standing biomass, Net primary productivity, below and above ground productivity

   Productivity indexes, C use efficiency

   C allocation, Ecosystem respiration

   Net ecosystem productivity and C balances; C footprint

   Measurement techniques

4. Use of Stable isotopes in crop ecosystem studies (Teaching unit length 2 hours):
5. Water fluxes (Teaching unit length 6 hours):

   Water needs

   Water footprint, green, blue and grey water

   Water use efficiency

   Water balance, ET, Kc, models

   Soil available water, Water deficit

6. Nutrient cycle (Teaching unit length 6 hours)

Nutrient availability

Nutrient budgets

Uptake fluxes

Nutrient partitioning

Nutrient inputs

Nutrient losses

Readings/Bibliography

Lecture notes, handouts and articles provided by the instructor through internet services managed by UNIBO.

Teaching methods

Classroom lectures make up 60% of the time allotted to this course. The remainder 40% is made up of classroom experiences (practicuum) or in the Dept. greenhouse.

 

 

Assessment methods

The course is comprised of two modules, each of 3 credits, the first one taught by dr. Morandi and the second taught by professor Tagliavini. Dr. Ventura will be co-responsible for the field and activity of the module two. Therefore, the evaluation of the integrated course jointly considers the knowledge level acquired by the student, in relation to all the materials covered in both modules. The goal of the evaluation is to assess the overall capacity of the student to recognize and address problems in the area of ecophysiology and ecosystems and devise solutions to these problems.

 

Teaching tools

Classroom lectures are provided with the aid of visuals. Practicuums are offered in the classroom, focused on the determination of physiological parameter by use of portable instrumentation. On occasion, seminars may be offered by visiting professors from other institutions, to integrate the instructor's lectures.

Office hours

See the website of Brunella Morandi

See the website of Massimo Tagliavini