Floristics and faunistics

Teaching is in the form of lessons, laboratory exercises, field excursions, identification and inventory exercises. At the beginning of the course, students participate in mandatory day-long excursions in different parts of Värmland. In lessons and laboratory sessions, the course covers the design of identification keys, botanical and zoological terms and concepts, some plant families and animal groups as well as a selection of representative species and groups. A number of different Nordic habitats are presented, including environmental aspects and representative plants and animals. In floristics, the most common vascular plants, mosses, and lichens are presented in their various environments as well as characteristic species of different plant communities and indicator species for identification of plant communities. In faunistics, the basics are covered through working with collected materials and later moving on to field identification in natural habitats. Students develop their ability to write reports on research results through inventory and sampling exercises, presented in class, and deepen their knowledge of different plant and animal species and communities, biological diversity, and the ecological demands of species.