Syllabus
I. Fundamental laboratory practice 1. Determination of selected nutrients: Nitrogen and its forms in soils, digestion of soil and plant materials in mineral acids, determination of nitrogen through distillation (Büchi appliace) and titration, meaning and evaluation of the C : N ratio. Phosphorus and its form, wet digestion of samples, extraction of phosphorus, determination of total and available phosphorus (phosphoantimonylmolybdenum blue complex). Sulphur and its forms, determination of extractable sulphates using turbidimetric and gravimetric methods.
II. Field and laboratory exercises 1. Detection of a biological activity of soils, measuring of a speed of cellulose decomposition in soils, litter bags, determination of cellulose sample decay along a moist gradient in an alluvial plain. (Soil seed bank, seed separation methods, determination of seeds and seedlings - maintained by an external expert).
III. Field exercises 1. (Micro-)Meteorological station: Manipulation with basic instruments: normal reading, minimal, maximal and soil thermometers, Leonard Hill's katathermometer, Assmann aspiration psychrometer, anemometers, Albert Piche's evaporimeter, heliograph, Bellani distillation pyranometer, Abbot pyrheliometer, daily course of the measured variables, meaning and construction of climate diagrams (Walter). 2. Introduction to carrying out vegetational relevés: Training of the assessment of abundance and dominance of plant species, phytocenological relevés, and point quadrat method. 3. Other measurements: Determination of heights of trees, determination of declination of slopes (SILVA Clino Master), trunk cores and determination of age of trees (dendrobohrer).
IV. Comparability of results 1. Subjective mistakes in semi-quantitative methods, standard operation procedures, reproducibility, successive measurements and time trends, regulation diagrams. 2. How to order analyses of samples in other or commercial laboratory, how to specify desired methods and their parameters and which complementary information to the determined means should be asked for.
Textbook: Suchara I. (2007): Praktikum vybraných ekologických metod.- Učeb. texty UK v Praze, Karolinum, Praha, 134 s.
Recommended textbooks:
Kubíková J. (1970, 1971): Geobotanické praktikum.- Učení texty, Př.F UK v Praze.
Rychnovská M., Balátová E., Úlehlová B.,Pelikán J. (1985): Ekologie lučních porostů.- Academia Praha, 291 pp.
Steubing L., Fangmeier A. (1992): Pflanzenökologisches Praktikum.- Verl. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart, 205 pp.
Requirements for credits:
Attendance at least 80%
Records from the individual exercises
Knowledge of the demonstrated methods
Annotation
Please note, the lectures are given in Czech language only.
Determination of selected macro-nutrients in soil and plant samples, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur. Microclimatic station and measuremets. Measuring of cellulose decay in soils. Introductory to phytocenological records (relevés). Determination of tree heights and declines of slopes. Standard operation procedure. How to get samples analysed in a commercial laboratory (data/evaluation demand).
Textbook:
Suchara I. (2007): Praktikum vybraných ekologických metod.- Karolinum, Praha, 136 pp.