Unit PLANT BIODIVERSITY
- Course
- Biological sciences
- Study-unit Code
- GP004019
- Curriculum
- Biodiversita' e ambiente
- Teacher
- Roberto Venanzoni
- Teachers
-
- Roberto Venanzoni
- Hours
- 42 ore - Roberto Venanzoni
- CFU
- 6
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2025
- Offered
- 2026/27
- Learning activities
- Affine/integrativa
- Area
- Attività formative affini o integrative
- Sector
- BIO/02
- Type of study-unit
- Obbligatorio (Required)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian/English for Erasmus students
- Contents
- To understand plant biodiversity: the plant kingdom.
Plant systematics and taxonomy. Botanical nomenclature. Kingdom Plantae: algae – biology and systematics; the emergence from water and the first terrestrial plants: bryophytes; seedless vascular plants: pteridophytes or ferns; gymnosperms: general characteristics, reproduction, systematics; angiosperms: diversity and an overview of evolution. The main families of the Italian flora: eudicots and monocots. Fungi: general characteristics, modes of reproduction, and systematics. - Reference texts
- 1) Pasqua G., Abbate G., Forni C., 2019. Botanica generale e diversità vegetale. Piccin Nuova Libraria S.p.A. Padova
2) Judd W.S., Campbell C.S., Kellog E.A., Steven P.F., 2007. Botanica sistematica. Un approccio Flogenetico. PICCIN
3) Solomon E.P., Martin C.E., Martin D.W., Berg L.R., 2017. Evoluzione e biodiversità. EdiSES S.r.l.
or equivalent in English language - Educational objectives
- The objective of the course is to provide students with the tools for recognizing the main groups of plant organisms (algae, mosses, ferns, gymnosperms, angiosperms, and fungi). This study is aimed at understanding plant biodiversity, systematics, and phylogeny. The course also includes theoretical and practical lessons focused on the recognition and identification, using analytical keys, of the main taxa of systematic, environmental, and economic importance.
- Prerequisites
- Prior knowledges of botany
- Teaching methods
- The course consists of 42 hours of classroom lectures covering the topics listed in the syllabus, and 10 hours of practical sessions aimed at learning how to use analytical keys for the identification of plant species.
- Other information
- The lecture timetable and exam schedule can be consulted on the Department’s website: http://www.dcbb.unipg.it.
The lecturer can be contacted by email for any needs (office hours, exam dates, syllabus).
Additional teaching materials, such as course slides or scientific publications related to the topics covered, are made freely available to students on UniStudium during the course. - Learning verification modality
- Oral examination and/or written tests, both during the course and at the final exam, as well as the preparation of a herbarium to be presented at the exam. The assessment methods will be communicated at the beginning of the course.
- Extended program
- Objectives of plant systematics. Taxonomic categories. Classification systems. Principles and rules of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. The concept of species as the basic rank: the taxonomic species and the biological species. Phenotypic variability and genotypic variability. Intraspecific taxonomic entities. The origin of new species (speciation or microevolution). Mechanisms for the formation of new genotypes: mutations, gene recombination, hybridization followed by polyploidy. Selection and isolation.
Prokaryotes: Cyanophyta (cyanobacteria); Prochlorophyta; Eubacteria. Endocytobiosis.
Thallose eukaryotes: Rhodophyta (red algae), Pyrrophyta, Bacillariophyta (diatoms), Phaeophyta (brown algae), and Chlorophyta (green algae).
Transition from aquatic environments and main adaptations of the sporophytic generation. Subaerial plants: characterization and evolutionary adaptations of Bryophyta, Pteridophyta (isospore and heterospore forms), Progymnospermophyta, and Spermatophyta (Gymnospermae and Angiospermae), with particular attention to the fate of the macrospore in heterosporous plants and the evolution of the corresponding gametophytic generation.
Gymnospermae: common and distinguishing features of Cycadopsida, Ginkgopsida, Coniferopsida, Taxopsida, and Gnetophyta. Angiospermae: general characteristics. Types of flowers and inflorescences. Pollen, pollination, and fertilization. Fruits and seed dispersal. Use of botanical keys or analytical guides, methods for preparing a herbarium, and identification of species from the following families: Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Corylaceae, Fabaceae, Fagaceae, Lamiaceae, Liliaceae, Oleaceae, Poaceae, Ranunculaceae, Rosaceae, Salicaceae.
Fungi: general structural characteristics, reproduction, ecology. Fungi–algae interactions (lichens), fungi–plant interactions (mycorrhizae). Main phyla: Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. - Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile
- Quality Education
Life on Land
Action for Climate