Applied Botany
Code: 100800 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2500250 Biology | OT | 4 | 0 |
Contact
- Name:
- Concepcion de Linares Fernandez
- Email:
- Concepcion.DeLinares@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- catalan (cat)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- No
Teachers
- Llorenç Sáez Gonyalons
- Concepcion de Linares Fernandez
- Andreu Salvat Saladrigas
- Cristina Roquet Ruíz
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites
Objectives and Contextualisation
The general objective is to train the students in the main concepts and methods related to all the disciplines related to the broad scope of applications related to plants, fungi and algae.
The specific objectives are the following:
(1) To provide basic information about the importance of organisms studied by Botany in aspects several, from a practical perspective and their impact on society.
(2) To provide a scientific framework that integrates information from various disciplines and allows the study of Biological problems related to the applications and the intrinsic problems of some characteristics of organisms studied by Botany.
(3) To provide some basic knowledge about various disciplines that have a clear practical impact on the society (food, materials, aerobiology, palynology, biofuels, bioconstruction, ethnobotany, aspects regulations and regulations, etc.).
Competences
- Be able to analyse and synthesise
- Characterise, manage, conserve and restore populations, communities and ecosystems.
- Develop a sensibility towards environmental issues.
Learning Outcomes
- Be able to analyse and synthesise.
- Develop a sensibility towards environmental issues.
- Interpret values of human demography and epidemiology.
Content
Unless the requirements enforced by the health authorities demand a prioritization or reduction of these contents, the course has of three parts: Theoretical classes, Seminars, Practices
Theoretical classes
Topic 1: Non-food use of plant resources
Plants as a source of fibers (clothing, paper, vimetery, etc.) and vegetable dyes. Industrial and social importance. Plants as construction elements (homes, furniture, instruments, utensils, symbolic elements ...). Producers of latex, resins, gums and oils. Obtaining and applications. Biofuels (coal, biodiesel, bioethanol, biomass).
Topic 2: Plant bioactive compounds
Psychoactive Toxic (poisons, biocides). Plants in medicine and cosmetic.
Topic 3: Regulation and ethics on the exploitation of plant resources (patents, bioprospecting ...)
Regulation and regulations on the collection of plants and fungi. Discussion on ethical issues in the case of the exploitation of protected endemic plants that are collected as medicines, and in the exploitation of the forest by collectors of mushrooms
Topic 4: The plants of alimentary use
Plants in the human and animal diet (cereals, plants as sources of lipids, proteins, starch, vitamins and minerals, sugars). Fermented vegetables. Spices and seasonings. Food additives of vegetable origin
Topic 5: Domestication of plants
Origin of agriculture. Domestication and radiation centres of cultivated plants.
Topic 6: Palinology and its applications
Introduction to the palynological science. Definition; the grain of pollen and spores: biological origin, morphology and functions Contributions from the Palinology to other sciences: Melissopalinology, Aerobiology, Actuopalinology, Paleopalinology. Melissopalinology. Pollinators; Melífera flora relation / pollen spectrum of honey; types of honeys; the pollen analysis ofhoney as a fundamental element in its quality control; study methodology. Aerobiology. Biological particles in the atmosphere: pollen and spores. Aerobiology: appliations. List of aerobiological particles with allergies; Study methodology. Visit the Point Aerobiological Information
Topic 8: Forensic botany
Forensic Botany: Forensic Palinology. Macroscopic and microscopic identification of plant remains in corpses. The algae in forensic investigations. Case studies.
Seminars
There will be different seminars related to applied Botany.
Practices
The practices are divided in:
LAB WORK (3 sessions x 2h)
Session 1- Morphological and functional study of representative species
Session 2 - Palinology Practices I. Methods of analysis in melissopalinology and aerobiology; Treatment and sample preparation; Melissopalinological techniques; Aerobiological techniques; Identification of pollen and spores at microscope
Session 3 - Palinology II Practices. Identification of pollen types in honeys and aerobiological samples .
PRACTICAL COMPUTER CLASROOM (1 session x 3h)
Session 1- Use of databases and procedures to establish the state of risk according to IUCN categories.
FIELD PRACTIQUES (2 sessions, total: 8 h).
There will be field practices in which the students will visit areas that allow to work, analyze and criticise some of the concepts and methods treated in both lectures and seminars.
Methodology
The proposed teaching methodology may experience some modifications depending on the restrictions to face-to-face activities enforced by health authorities.
The methodology used is based on 1) the information directly provided by the teacher and 2) the work of the student both in the laboratory, in practical computer classroom and field sessions. The course is based on the combination of lectures (theory classes), seminars and practices.
(1) lectures or theory (in whole group) where the concepts and methods of the discipline are explained. Lectures stand out and address the complicated and important points of the subject. The student should complement the information given in class with bibliographic information and autonomous work. The lectures are 50 minutes long and will be presented using material prepared by the teacher, and that the student will have available on the Virtual Campus.
(2) seminars (in party group) where specific cases of study are analyzed, and participatory debates are made about the significance and limitations of the concepts and methods explained in theory. These seminars deal with topics that are usually of special interest (due to their controversy or current affairs) but which are outside a general agenda of the subject, as they refer to a very specific topic and would break the main thread of the course.
(3) practices field practices, laboratory practices and computer room will be carried out
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Field trips | 9 | 0.36 | 2, 1 |
| Laboratory practices | 6 | 0.24 | 1 |
| Practices with computer | 3 | 0.12 | 2, 1 |
| Seminars | 5 | 0.2 | 2, 1 |
| Theory classes | 29 | 1.16 | 2, 1 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Study | 83 | 3.32 | 2, 1 |
Assessment
Student’s assessment may experience some modifications depending on the restrictions to face-to-face activities enforced by health authorities.
The assessment consists of the following blocks: theory, seminars and lab practices. The student will need to get a minimum score of 5 in each of these blocks to pass the subject.
1) Theoretical exams (2 exams): set of questions (brief and very specific in general) related to the theoretical classes and computer classroom. There will be two eliminatory partial exams, each of which will have a weight of 40% of the final mark of the subject.
2) Practical exam: test that will consist of set of questions related to laboratory and field practices will help the student have the necessary skills and knowledge to successfully pass this test, which will have a weight of 20% of the final mark of the subject. It is necessary to obtain a 5 in order to pass the course. There is no compensation or recovery.
Each of the two parts of the block of theory can be reassessed through a reassessment exam that will be equivalent to the partial exam and will have the same weight in the final score.
To be eligible for the retake process, the student should have been previously evaluated in a set of activities equaling at least two thirds of the final score of the course. Thus, the student will be graded as "No Avaluable" if the weighthing of all conducted evaluation activities is less than 67% of the final score.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam of laboratory practices | 20% | 6 | 0.24 | 3, 1 |
| Exam of theory 1st partial | 35% | 2 | 0.08 | 2, 1 |
| Exam of theory 2nd partial | 35% | 2 | 0.08 | 2, 1 |
| Seminars | 10% | 5 | 0.2 | 2, 1 |
Bibliography
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Anderson, E.N. [et al.] (eds.). 2011. Ethnobiology. Wiley-Blackwell. London.
Balick, M. J. 1996. Plants, people, and culture : the science of ethnobotany. Scientific American Library, New York.
Berdonces, J.L. 1998. Gran enciclopedia de las plantas medicinales: el dioscórides del tercer milenio. Tikal. Madrid.
Blumenthal, M. (ed.) 1998. Therapeutic guide to herbal medicines. Developed by a special expert committee of the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices. American Botanical Council. Austin. Integrative Medicine Communications. Boston.
Bruneton, J. 2000. Plantas tóxicas: vegetales peligrosos para el hombre y los animales.: Editorial Acribia, DL. Zaragoza.
Coyle, H.M. 2004. Forensic Botany: Principles and Applications to Criminal Casework. CRC Press.
Erdtman, G. 1969. Handbook of palynology: morphology, taxonomy, ecology.
Font Quer, P. 2014. Plantas medicinales. El Dioscórides renovado. Ediciones Península. Barcelona.
Kapp, R. O., King, J. E., & Davis, O.K. 2000. Ronald O. Kapp's pollen and spores. American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists Foundation Publication.
Laín, C.S. 2004. Glosario de términos palinológicos. Lazaroa 25: 93-112.
Levetin, E.; McMahon, K. 1996. Plants and society. McGraw-Hill. Boston (Mass.).
Lim, T. K. 2013-. Edible Medicinal and Non-Medicinal Plants: Fruits (Vol. 1-6). Springer.
Martin, G. J. 2004. Ethnobotany: a methods manual. Earthscan, London [etc.].
Martín, J., Julià, M.A., Riera, C. 2003. Diccionari de palinologia. UB, Barcelona.
Murphy, D.J. 2007. People, plants and genes: the story of crops and humanity. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Prance, G.T, & al. 1994. Ethnobotany and the search for new drugs. John Wiley & Sons (Ciba Foundation Symposium 185). Chichester.
Sáenz de Rivas, C. (1978). Polen y esporas. H. Blume. Madrid, España.
Schultes, R.E.; Reis, S.V. (eds.). 2008. Ethnobotany: evolution of a discipline. Chapman and Hall, London [etc.].
Smartt, J. & N. Simmonds. 1995. Evolution of crop plants. 2nd Edition. Longman. New York.
Wink, M. & Van Wyk, B.-E. 2008. Mind-altering and poisonous plants of the world. Timber Press, Portland, London.