RAM 382: RANGELAND PLANTS AND COMMUNITIES
Spring 2010
Lecture: Tuesday
and Thursday, 11:00-11:50, BSE 225
Labs: Thursday,
2:30-5:00, BSE 124
Instructor: Mitchel
McClaran: 112 Biological Sciences East, 621-1673, mcclaran@u.arizona.edu.
Office
hours: Tuesdays 1-2PM and Thursdays 9-10AM or by appointment
Prerequisites: RNR 230 or equivalent course in
plant identification and taxonomy.
Course
Description:
Lecture:
Survey of western
Lab:
Sight identification, geographic location, ecology and management
characteristics of important plants in these communities.
Course Objectives:
Develop
understanding of western
Texts (required):
Stubbendieck, J., S.L. Hatch, L.M. Landholt. 2003. North American Wildland Plants.
Lecture and Lab Notes containing copies of all
overheads used in the course. (Available at UA bookstore)
Texts
(optional):
Brown, D. (ed.). 1994. Biotic Communities of the
Southwestern United States and
Brown, D. (ed.). 1994. Map of Biotic Communities
of the Southwestern United States and
Epple, A.O. 1995. A Field Guide to the Plants of
Mabberly, D.J. 2008. Plant Book. 3rd
Edition.
Equipment:
A 10x
hand lens is strongly recommended.
Course Homepage: http://ag.arizona.edu/classes/ram382/home.html,
in addition, reading materials and other documents are available on our course
site on D2L (http://d2l.arizona.edu/).
RAM 382
Spring 2010
Tests and Grading:
One-third of final grade will be based on the lab, and the remainder on
the lecture. In the lecture there are two 1-hour exams and one 1-hour final
exam, worth 100 points each. Questions are short essay and short answer, based
on the lecture and reading materials. There are seven lab quizzes covering
plant identification from study mounts and questions about ecology, management,
and species identification. Quizzes emphasize plants covered in the previous
week, but identification will always include plants from any previous lab. The 6
highest quiz scores will be included in the calculation of the final
grade. The lab final exam will be worth
about 46% of the lab grade, it will be a comprehensive plant identification
exam. Attendance on 2 of the 4 field trips is required, and attending a 3rd
field trip will replace the lowest lab quiz with a 100% score. All points from
a lab quiz will be deducted for failing to attend a required field trip.
Letter
grades will be based on the proportion of the total available points available
in the course. The letter grades will be:
Grade A > 88%, Grade B 78-87%, Grade C 68-77%, Grade D 58-67%, and
Grade E < 57%.
Lecture
exams given in 2009 are in on the FAST COPY course notes.
Point
values assigned to plant identification elements on the lab quizzes and lab
final are:
Family or Tribe 2
points Common name 2
points
Genus 3 points Longevity 1 point
Specific Epithet 3
points Origin 1 point
Each
quiz includes identification of 8 plants. Credit for the species name is given
only when the genus is correctly identified.
Misspelling the family/tribe, genus, species, or common name will result
in a loss of 0.5 point for each
misspelled word. Four questions
pertaining to plant identification, ecological and management characteristics
will account for 24 points on each quiz.
The lab
point total is 1332, which combines the 720 points from the best six quizzes
and 612 points from the lab final. Total lab points are converted to 150 points
by multiplying by 0.1126.
Extra Credit:
Extra
credit to replace one lab quiz score
or one field trip is available. This
extra credit can be a book review of an early exploration, pioneer settlement,
or scientific endeavors in geographic areas covered in this class, or a summary
of a species’ importance in an animal’s diet from three published studies. Extra
credit efforts must be pre-approved by the instructor. These written efforts
are due at the time of the lecture final.
In
addition, two extra credit points will be given for lab quizzes when the
student identifies any misspelled word on any handout given during the
course. Only the first student to
identify the misspelling will be given the extra credit points.
Proportion of the Total Grade
Completed by End of the Eighth Week of the Semester:
By the
end of week eight (02 March), we will have completed one lecture test (1/3 of
lecture total), and two field trips and three lab quizzes (about 1/4 of the lab
total). All together, by week eight we
will have completed about 34% of the total points available in the course.
RAM 382
Spring 2010
Attendance and Late Work Policy:
Attendance
is not required for lectures, except days when there is an exam. If unable to attend
an exam, the student must contact the instructor prior to the scheduled exam
time to make arrangements to complete the exam at a different time, otherwise
there will be no other opportunity to complete the exam. Attendance is not required for labs, but lab
quizzes will only be given one time. Attendance is required for any 2 of the 4
field trips.
Conduct Policy:
Students
are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that does not inhibit the
learning experience of fellow students. Therefore,
all cell phones must remain off class, and those using computers to take notes
must sit in the back rows to minimize disruption to fellow students. Questions
and discussion in lecture and the lab sections are greatly encouraged, and will
be facilitated by the instructor.
Special Needs and Accommodations:
Students
needing special accommodations or special services should contact the
Disability Resource Center http://drc.arizona.edu/index.html.
The need for specialized services must be documented and verified by that
institution.
Academic Integrity:
Students
are encouraged to discuss the course materials and their interpretations of
those materials, however, work that is submitted to complete assignments and to
complete exams, must be that of the individual student. This course operates in accordance with the
University academic policies on A Code of Academic Integrity, which can be
accessed at http://www.deanofstudents.arizona.edu/codeofacademicintegrity.
Personal Privacy:
Graded
work will be returned to each student personally, rather than left in a public
area for retrieval. Final grades will be
posted on the University website within a few days after the Final Exam.
Alternatively, student can provide a self-addressed stamped postcard at the
time of the Final Exam and the Instructor will note the final grade and post
the card. Grades will not be reported in an email message.
Withdrawal:
Students
permanently leaving the course must file a drop or withdrawal form. Students must not assume that they will be
dropped after failing to attend class.
RAM 382
Spring 2010
Course
Outline
Date Topic
Jan 14
Th Introduction
Lab:Introduction and Grass
Identification
Jan 19
Tu Plant Communities
Jan 21
Th Vegetation Dynamics
Lab: Hot Desert
Jan 26
Tu Vegetation Dynamics
Jan
28 Th Hot Desert
Lab: Desert Grassland & PRACTICE QUIZ
Feb 02 Tu Hot Desert
Feb 04 Th Desert Grassland
Lab:
NOTE: 09 February is last day to drop classes without a grade on
transcript
Feb 09 Tu No Class Scheduled
Feb
11 Th No Class Scheduled
Lab: No Meeting
Feb 16 Tu Desert Grassland
Feb 18 Th Desert Grassland (last
lecture on First Exam)
Lab:
Feb 23 Tu FIRST EXAM
Feb 25 Th
Feb
27 Sa (NOTE) Lab: Field Trip - Spatial Variation in
Mar 02 Tu
Mar 04 Th Riparian
Lab:
Sagebrush-grass and QUIZ
Mar 06
Sa (NOTE) Lab:
Field Trip - Temporal Variation at Santa Rita Experimental Range
NOTE: 09 March is last day to drop classes with a grade of “W”
Mar
09 Tu Riparian
Mar 11 Th
Lab: Pinyon-Juniper
RAM
382
Spring 2010
Mar 16 Tu Spring Break
Mar 18 Th Spring Break
Mar
23 Tu
Mar 25 Th California Oak Woodland (last
lecture on Second Exam)
Lab:
Ponderosa Pine-grass and QUIZ
Mar 30 Tu SECOND EXAM
Apr 01 Th
Lab:
Shortgrass and Tallgrass Prairies and QUIZ
Apr
06 Tu Sagebrush-grass
Apr 08 Th Sagebrush-grass
Lab:
No Meeting
Apr 10
Sa (NOTE) Lab:
Field Trip - Riparian Community, Muleshoe Ranch
Apr 13 Tu Pinyon-Juniper
Apr 15 Th Pinyon-Juniper
Lab:
Mountain Meadows/Grasslands and QUIZ
Apr 20 Tu Ponderosa Pine-grass
Apr 22 Th Ponderosa Pine-grass
Lab:
No Meeting
Apr 24
Sa (NOTE) Lab:
Field Trip -
Apr 27 Tu Mountain Meadows/Grasslands
Apr 29 Th Shortgrass and Mixedgrass Prairies
Lab: FINAL CUMULATIVE EXAM
May 04 Tu Tallgrass Prairie
May 11 Tu Lecture FINAL EXAM 11 AM - 1 PM
RAM 382
Spring 2010
Lecture
14 Jan McClaran, M.P. and W.W. Brady. 1994.
19 Jan Barbour, M.G., J.H. Burk, W.D. Pitts, F.S.
Gilliam, and M.W. Schwartz.1999. Terrestrial Plant Ecology. Third Ed.
Benjamin/Cummings Pub.
21 Jan Westoby, M., B. Walker and
28 Jan Turner, R.M. and D.E. Brown. 1982.
04 Feb McClaran, M.P. 1995. Desert grasslands and
grasses. In, M.P. McClaran and T.R. Van Devender (eds.). The Desert Grassland.
25 Feb Pase, C.P. and D.E. Brown. 1994. Interior
Chaparral. Pages 95-99. In Brown, D.E. (ed.) Biotic Communities and the
Southwestern United States and
02 Mar McClaran, M.P. and G.R. McPherson. 1999. Oak
Savanna in the American Southwest. In R.C. Anderson. J.S. Fralish, and J.
Baskin (eds.). Savanna, Barrens, and Rock Outcrop Plant Communities of
04 Mar Asplund, K.K. and M.T. Gooch. 1988.
Geomorphology and the distributional ecology of Fremont Cottonwood (Populus
fremontii) in a desert riparian canyon. Desert Plants 9:17-27.
11 Mar Heady, H.F., J.W. Bartolome, M.D. Pitt, G.D.
Savelle and M.C. Stroud. 1992.
23 Mar Keeley, J.E. and S.C. Keeley. 1988. Chaparral.
In: M.G. Barbour and W.D. Billings (Eds.) North American Terrestrial
Vegetation. pp. 165-207.
01
Apr Branson, F.A. 1985. Vegetation
changes on western range lands. Range
Monograph No. 2. Society for Range Management, Denver, CO. pp. 30-34.
06
Apr Branson, F.A. 1985. Vegetation
changes on western range lands. Range
Monograph No. 2. Society for Range Management, Denver, CO. pp. 23-30.
13
Apr Romme et al. 2009. Historical and
modern disturbance regimes, stand structures, and landscape dynamics in
Pinon-Juniper vegetation of the western
20
Apr Branson, F.A. 1985. Vegetation
changes on western range lands. Range
Monograph No. 2. Society for Range Management, Denver, CO. pp. 52-56.
27 Apr Ratliff, R.D., M.R. George and N.K. McDougald.
1987. Managing livestock grazing on meadows of
29 Apr Branson, F.A. 1985. Vegetation changes on
western range lands. Range Monograph
No. 2. Society for Range Management, Denver, CO. pp. pp. 6-22.
04 May Albertson, F.W. and G.W. Tomanek.
1965. Vegetation changes during a 30-year period in grassland communities near
Hays,