Geobotany-Period 1

The course will be a mixture of lectures, practical assignments in class (plant determination using a flora), excursion, paper presentations and discussion meetings. The course also includes the making of a "herbarium".

Lectures
- A general introduction (content of the course and requirements)
- An introduction to the Plant Kingdom
- The plant Kingdom in a geological and evolutionary perspective (dr. S. Troelstra)
- Plant morphology
- Introduction to Systematics and Taxonomy and how to use a flora.
- The vegetation of the Netherlands
- An introduction to a number of common flowering plant families and how to recognize them
- Introduction to the flora of the Netherlands
- The principals of Ecology: from species to biomes
- Palaeoecology: (i) Introduction to Palaeoecology (principles, archives and biological proxies) (ii) Introduction to the palaeoecological evolution since the LGM in Western Europe (iii) Hydrosere (from open water to a peat bog) and the link to plant macrofossil analysis

Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course therefore, CEA's recommended credits are based on the ECTS credits assigned by VU Amsterdam. 1 ECTS equals 28 contact hours assigned by VU Amsterdam.