Content (Syllabus outline)

Plant and its environment. Abiotic factors; light, temperature, water and gaseous environment. Microclimate, plant cover and microclimatic conditions. Leaf area index.

Water balance of plant. Temporal changes of water potential, stomatal conductance and transpiration. Regulation of water balance. Water use efficiency. Water balance of different plant types. Water balance of ecosystem – physiological aspects.

Carbon balance of plants. The influence of environmental factors - light, concentration of CO2, temperature, water and nutrient availability on photosynthesis (C3, C4, CAM) and respiration. Photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency, Gas exchange measurements (photosynthesis, respiration) on the level of leaf, canopy and ecosystem. Photochemecial efficiency, chlorophyll fluorescence. The use of isotopes in ecophysiology, 12C/13C analysis. Carbon balance of ecosystem (GPP, NPP, NEP, NEE, Reco).

Mineral nutrition. The effects of environmental factors on the uptake, translocation and assimilation of mineral nutrients. Habitat-related aspects of mineral nutrition. The use of physiological methods, isotopic analyses and molecular methods in the studies of mineral nutrition.

Stress physiology, introduction, specific and nonspecific indicators of stress in plants. Abiotic stress: radiation, drought, salinity, hypoxia and anoxia, low (cold, freezing) and high temperatures, soil and air pollution. Plant response to abiotic stress, mechanisms of avoidance, tolerance in resistance. Interactions of different stressors. Multiple stress.

Prerequisites

Conditions for inclusion in the work:

Enrolment in the appropriate academic year.

 

Conditions for performing study obligations

Prerequisite for final exam is passing preliminary examination.