Au Sable - Great Lakes
The preliminary 2023 Syllabus is available here. It will be updated with subsequent revisions periodically thereafter. The syllabus provides an overview of the way the course is structured. Readings, descriptions (abstracts) of the various plant communities we will visit, powerpoint lectures (as pdfs) on certain topics, and Herbarium plant collection specimen label templates can be downloaded here.
Requirements for the physical plant collection are at this link. Requirements for the iNaturalist observations are at this link.
Files needed for your Forest Project report can be found and downloaded at this link. These include the project instructions, data for trees, shrubs, herbs at Northern Hardwood and Mixed Pine forests, summary sheets to be included in your report, light data, soil data, and presettlement forest maps for both sites.
Readings |
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| Judd et al. 2002 Chpt4 | Taxonomic evidence: structural and biochemical characters | Brief review of vegetative and floral features of flowering plants |
| Judd et al. 2002 Chpt8 | Lycophytes, ferns and their allies, and extant gymnosperms | Description and representative families of non-flowering land plants |
| Walters&Keil 1996 | Botanical nomenclature | Chapter on why and how scientific names are given to plants |
| Woodland 2003 | History and development of classification | Chapter on why and how plants have been classified into genera, families, orders, etc. |
| Barnes&Wagner 2004 | Michigan Trees (pp. 373-393) | Discussion on Michigan forest communities in the past and today |
| Dickmann&Leefers 2004 | Forests of Michigan (pp. 52-71) | Further discussion on Michigan forest communities dealing with post-glaciation events |
| Whitney 1987 | An ecological history of the Great Lakes forest of Michigan | Article in Journal of Ecology dealing with post-settlement changes in forests around AuSable |
| Quammen 1998 | Planet of Weeds | Article in Harper's Magazine dealing with losses of plant and animal species due to invasives |
| Bog (long abstract) | ||
