Syllabus

FS 545  Forest Community Ecology

Spring  2012

Lecture: MW 9:00 - 9:50 or 10:00 – 10:50
Laboratory: Tuesday or Thursday 13:00 - 17:30
Instructor: David Hibbs, Richardson 301K, 737-6077, david.hibbs@oregonstate.edu
Office hours: By appointment or drop in

Goals:

An understanding of forest community ecology is central to sound decisions in natural resource management. This course will develop an understanding of the theoretical basis of plant community ecology and the research process that develops or tests this theory. In addition, through classroom and field study, the course will develop knowledge and skills in the application of this theory to understanding and interpreting the ecology of real forest settings. The course assumes that the students have an understanding of basic ecological concepts and terminology.
The course has a number of secondary goals that are developed through the processes of the course. These include critical reading and thinking skills, clear writing and expression, improved understanding of group processes, and creative thinking.

Learning Outcomes:

Students will

Course structure:

The course is a combination of class and field meetings. Class meetings will focus on a weekly topic through lecture, primary literature readings, discussion, student presentations, and written essays. Generally, Monday will be lecture to provide general background on the week’s topic. Student-lead discussion of assigned readings on Wednesday will examine how scientists are studying components of the week’s topic. Some of the readings are of an historic or synthesis nature; most are recent examples of research that tries to clarify an element within the week’s topic area. The last 10 minutes of the discussion will be used for synthesis. Tuesday/Thursday field trips will apply topics studied in the class room to forest settings. Field observations and collected data will be the subject of alternate-week lab reports.
All students are responsible for reading all assignments. It is expected that students will attend all classes and labs. There is a required Saturday field trip (May 19).

Readings and discussions:

 

The weekly class readings focus on the topic of the week. The readings are a mix of classic papers, synthesis or summary papers, and recent research papers. The recent research papers illustrate, among other things, how scientists are attempting to address an issue within the topic of the week. Some of these papers illustrate how difficult it is to address the question cleanly or successfully. Links to pdf files for all class readings are found at: http://www.cof.orst.edu/cof/teach/fs545/index.htm

Each student will turn in at the end of each Wednesday discussion period a brief written description of the primary research issue addressed (the conceptual context for the research) in each assigned paper, the research approach used, and how the primary scientific conclusion relates to the primary research issue. Each of these three points to be covered can be a single sentence so you may have only three sentences per paper. These should be prepared ahead of class time and turned in at the end of the period.
During the term, each student (as part of a 2-person team) will be responsible for leading a discussion of class readings at least once. In preparation for leading a discussion, the students will prepare a list of issues and questions related to the reading. Additional data, tables, figures or bibliographic references are welcome. These should be distributed at the beginning of the discussion. When leading a discussion, begin with a brief (1-3 minutes) summary of the why, what and import of the paper. Then begin the discussion with a question, prompt as needed when the discussion gets off course, and move on to the next question when you think it is time.

Field labs:

 

Labs will be in the field, rain or shine. Labs depart at 1:15 pm from the parking lot across the street from the OSU Motor Pool. Bring clothing appropriate for the field, including rain gear. Poison oak is sometimes present. Write-ups of lab exercises are due by Friday of the following week. All students are responsible for all lab reports. Analysis, tables and figures may be group work but the text must be independent. A report is no more than 2.5 double-spaced pages plus tables and figures. A lab report should set a context, outline the methods/approach very briefly, present results, and present what ecological generalities are possible. How do your results relate to the concepts we have explored in class? Setting the context seems to be a challenging aspect of these reports. Context here is the ecological context: what is going on in and around the plots that your measurements may miss but are important to interpreting the data. This is qualitative and observational, but is often important.
There will be a required Saturday field trip on May 19, leaving from Motor Pool promptly at 7:00 am and returning by 6:00 pm. Bring food and drink for the day. We will travel east, up and over the Cascades. This lab write-up may be a little longer, up to 3 pages of text.

Term papers:

 

Students will write two essays, one due at the end of week 5 and one due at the end of week 10. In 2-3 pages, the first essay will develop a concept in community ecology. In 4-5 pages, the second essay will explore broader issues in community ecology, perhaps integrating several basic concepts with some aspect of field observations from the field trips. Students may include aspects of their own research. These essays should be a synthesis of ideas of your own with those in the literature. These essays should be creative and thoughtful. They are an opportunity to explore something new or even a little risky. A simple literature review will not fare well; I really want to see an expression of your thought and creativity! Papers are to be typed in a 12-point font and double-spaced with standard margins. Page length does not include tables or figures.
Late papers: Emergencies are inevitable for most of us. Only in such special circumstances (e.g., illness) and if the instructor has been notified in advance will late assignments be accepted without penalties. Otherwise, one half letter grade will be lost for each day late.

Evaluation:

Evaluation is based on understanding illustrated in discussions and essays as well as on leadership of assigned discussions.
                                                  % of grade
General discussions                             10%
Assigned discussions                            5%
Laboratory write-ups                          25%
Essay 1                                                25%
Essay 2                                                35%

Student Conduct:
For OSU rules and expectations, see http://oregonstate.edu/studentconduct/code/index.php.

Disabilities:
I will do my best to accommodate known disabilities. For the OSU Policy of Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability, see http://oregonstate.edu/oei/policy-prohibiting-discriminatory-harassment-0.

Course Outline:
Week of:
1. April 2: Course introduction, basic concepts of community
Lab:  Seeing and reading the clues (Fitton Green Natural Area), no lab report
Read:
Clements, F.E. 1936. Nature and structure of climax. Journal of Ecology 24:252-284. Read pp. 252-266, 282-3.

Gleason, H.A. 1939. The individualistic concept of the plant association. American Midland Naturalist 21:92-110.


2. April 9: Physical structure of forest communities
Lab: Gradient analysis (Forest Peak, Dunn Forest), lab report due
Read:
Sarr, D.A. and D.E. Hibbs. 2007. Multiscale controls on woody plant diversity in western Oregon riparian forests. Ecological Monographs 7:179-201.

Leach, M.K., and Givnish, T.J. 1999. Gradients in the composition, structure, and diversity of remnant oak savannas in southern Wisconsin. Ecological Monographs 69(3):353-374.


3. April 16: Disturbance - short-term effects and responses
Lab: Recent disturbances: clearcuts, debris flows (Woods Creek, Mary’s Peak), no lab report
Read:
Bailey, J.K. and Whitham, T.G. 2002. Interactions among fire, aspen, and elk affect insect diversity: reversal of a community response. Ecology 83(6):1701-1712.

Roxburgh, S.H, K. Shea and J.B. Wilson. 2004. The intermediate disturbance hypothesis: patch dynamics and mechanisms of species coexistence. Ecology 85(2): 359-371.


4. April 23: Disturbance - long-term effects and responses
Lab: Changing forest age structure, composition (Richardson 273), lab report due
Read:
Whitlock, C. et al. 2003. The role of climate and vegetation change in shaping past and future fire regimes in the northwestern US and the implications for ecosystem management. Forest Ecology and Management 178:5-21.

Williams, J.W., Shuman, B.N. and Webb III, T. 2001. Dissimilarity analysis of late-quaternary vegetation and climate in eastern North America. Ecology 82(12):3346-3362.


5. April 30: Stand development and succession
Lab: Stand development, effects of planting and thinning, no lab report (Green Peak DMS)
Read:
Hibbs, D.E. 1983. Forty years of forest succession in Central New England. Ecology 64:1394-1401.

Zhang, J. et al. 2006. Growth and development of ponderosa pine on sites of contrasting productivities: relative importance of stand density and shrub competition effects. Can. J. For. Res. 36:2426-2438.

May 4: First paper due.


6. May 7: Succession and community dynamics
Lab: Succession and forest types (Mary’s Peak south), lab report due
Read:
MacDougall, A.S. and R. Turkington. 2005. Are invasive species the drivers of passengers of change in degraded ecosystems? Ecology 86:42-55.

Crocker, R. and J. Major. 1955. Soil development in relation to vegetation and surface age at Glacier Bay, Alaska. J. Ecology 43:427-447.


7. May 14: Insects, animals and disease
Lab: none
Read:
Booth, M.G. and J.D. Hoeksema. 2010. Mycorrhizal networks counteract competitive effects of canopy trees on seedling survival. Ecology 91:2294-2302..

Reed, D.C. et al. 2011. Wave disturbance overwhelms top-down and bottom-up control of primary production in California kelp forests. Ecology 92: 2108-2116..

May 19: Saturday field trip: 7:00 am at Motor Pool, lab report due May 25


8. May 21: Diversity
Lab: Riparian areas and diversity (Oak Creek), no lab report
Read:
Busing, R.T. and White, P.S. 1997.  Species diversity and small-scale disturbance in an old-growth temperate forest: a consideration of gap partitioning concepts. Oikos 78:562-568.

Pitman, N.C. et al. 2002. A comparison of tree species diversity in two upper Amazonian forests. Ecology 83(11):3210-3224.


9. May 28: Diversity (no lecture, Monday is a holiday).
Lab: Soils, diversity (McDonald Forest), lab report due
Read:
Wright, S.J. 2002. Plant diversity in tropical forests: a review of mechanisms of species coexistence. Oecologia 130:1-14.

Stachowicz, J.J., Fried, H., Osman, R.W. and Whitlatch, R.B. 2002. Biodiversity, invasion resistance, and marine ecosystem function: reconciling pattern and process. Ecology 83(9):2575-2590.


10. June 4: Humans in the landscape
Lab: Coastal fog belt
Read:
Dupouey, J.L., Dambrine, E., Laffite, J.D. and Moares, C. 2002. Irreversible impact of past land use on forest soils and biodiversity. Ecology 83(11):2978-2984.

McGill, B. et al. 2006. Rebuilding community ecology from functional traits. Trends in Ecol. Evol. 21:178-185

June 8: Second paper due.