1. e-mail: faithann@ntsg.umt.edu
Tree Biology
FOR 240
Dr. Faith Ann Heinsch
phone:

2. Syllabus Midterm (100 points) Final (120 points) Project (130 points)
Tuesday, October 17
Final (120 points)
Wednesday, December 13, 10:10 a.m. to 12:10 p.m.
Project (130 points)

3. Textbook Class Notes http://www.eres.lib.umt.edu/ Password: lodgepole
Forest Ecology, 4th Edition
by B. Barnes et al., 1998
Class Notes
Select PowerPoint Slides
will be made available on
Electronic Reserve at the library.
Password: lodgepole

4. Why Learn About Plants? (Or: Why should we care about this class?)
The air we breathe comes from plants
How?
Plants give off oxygen
The air we breathe is cleaned by plants
Remove CO2 and toxins
“Clean Air Plants”
#1: Bamboo palm
(Chamaedorea Seifritzii)

5. Why Learn About Plants?
18.5% of the human body (dry mass) is composed of CARBON
Where does this carbon come from?
From eating plants!
You are a meat-eater, you say? How do those animals get so tasty? THEY eat plants and gain carbon, which is then transferred to us.
How does this happen?
It starts with PHOTOSYNTHESIS

6. Why Learn About Plants?
Over half the medicines we use are derived from plants
Example: Gingko
Antioxidant
Memory enhancer
Also
Multivitamins
Poppies – codeine, morphine

7. Why Learn About Trees specifically?
We use trees and their products every day
Wood
Paper
Fruit
Shade

8. And, finally…….
COFFEE!!
caffeine

9. Why learn about plants? Origins of fossil fuels Ecological buffers
Coal, Oil, Natural Gas
Ecological buffers
Oxygen
Water
Carbon
Nutrients

10. Figure 3-1: Schematic of chemical and transport processes related to atmospheric composition. These processes link the atmosphere with other components of the Earth system, including the oceans, land, and terrestrial and marine plants and animals

11. Plants Take In & Use Energy
The sun provides a sustainable energy source
All organisms require energy
growth, repair, maintenance
Cellular Respiration & Photosynthesis are probably the two most important activities on earth

12. Course Overview Genetics Regeneration & Seed Production
Tree Structure & Growth
shape, stem (bark & wood), roots, leaves
Bioclimatology
temperature, precipitation, solar radiation
Water
Carbon & Resource Allocation
Nutrient Availability
Stress Physiology & Dormancy
Site Quality & Growing Seasons
Climate Change
The book covers many ecosystems, we will be focusing our attention on trees.
This is a general outline of the class, and we will adjust accordingly.

13. Components of Landscape Ecosystems
Entity
(FOR330)
Inorganic and
Organic Components
Ecosystem
Abiotic
Components
(Physical
environment = site)
Climate (macro- and microclimate)
Physiography (form of land and
parent material)
Soil (edaphic factors of water, air,
nutrients, etc.)
Biota
(Biotic
community)
Plants – Plant communities
Animal - Animal communities
Microbes - Microbial communities
What is an ecosystem?
A. Ecosystem - community of organisms interacting and functioning together through:
1. Flow of energy
2. Cycling of energy

14. This is a diagram of an ecosystem from 1962.
It is somewhat surprising that we had such a good
understanding of ecosystems back then. Basically,
all we have done since is fill in the boxes themselves.

15. This is more of what we see today – lots of
boxes and arrows. This class is designed to
gain a first understanding of the boxes AND
arrows.