During the first part (Feb.-Mar.), there are going to be mostly talks and discussions with experts. We are going to cover topics like: - morphology of clon. pl. and its links to ecology, - evolution of clon. pl., - genetics and population biology of clon. pl., - resource sharing in clon. pl., - information sharing in clon. pl.,...Expected scenario for this part is that there will be an expert talk, followed by some suggested reading at home, followed by a Questions and Answers session with the expert.
In spring (Apr-May(-June)), there will be some demonstrations outdoors, several demonstration experiments, and one research project.
Course participants are expected to learn how to understand clonal plants, the most widely represented group among herbs of temperate climate zones. The participants will interpret research in the field of clonal plants biology and get some degree of familiarity with standard research techniques in the field. The course consists of lectures and discussions with the experts in the field and hands-on demonstrations of research techniques. The participants will conduct real research project. After finishing the course successfully, the participants are expected to be ready to prepare their independent projects in the field of clonal plants research.
The course is taught in English. There is a strong emphasis upon independent work of the students, including papers reading, essays writing and conducting the research hands-on.