Plant ecology in a global change perspective

Why do some plant species grow here but not there? What factors determine where a particular species can survive? Why is diversity so much higher in some regions than others? How can so many species coexist? These are some of the fundamental questions that ecologists have discussed (and argued about!) for centuries. In this course we will learn how to answer many of these questions, and apply this knowledge to our rapidly changing world. What does our understanding of these processes tell us about how plant species will respond to environmental change? Which species will be the winners and losers of environmental change? Where will diversity decrease (or increase!) the most under climate warming? And what – if anything – should we do to prevent the loss of plant biodiversity? The course is highly interactive and contains, in addition to lectures, practical work in the field and laboratory, discussion seminars, theoretical exercises, and individual and group projects with student presentations.