Unit PLANT BIODIVERSITY
- Course
- Earth science and environment
- Study-unit Code
- GP004019
- Curriculum
- In all curricula
- 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
- Knowing Plant Diversity: Fundamentals of Systematics and Taxonomy. Nomenclature. Evolution of terrestrial plants: algae and the aquatic environment; the terrestrial environment and the transition from water to land; bryophytes; seedless vascular plants (pteridophytes); gymnosperms: general characteristics, reproduction, and 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. Practical exercises on the use of dichotomous keys for plant identification.
- 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 books in English - Educational objectives
- The aim of the course is to provide students with the tools necessary for the recognition of the main groups of plant organisms (algae, mosses, lichens, ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms). These skills are intended to support field observation of plants and to foster an understanding of the role that plant species play in the specific and ecosystem biodiversity of a territory.
The course also includes theoretical and practical sessions focused on the recognition and identification of the main taxa of systematic, naturalistic, environmental, and economic importance through the use of identification keys (dichotomous keys). - Prerequisites
- Prior knowledge of General Botany is recommended.
- Teaching methods
- The course consists of 42 hours of classroom-based lectures covering the topics outlined in the syllabus, together with practical sessions aimed at developing students’ skills in the use of identification keys for the determination of plant species.
- Other information
- The lecture timetable and examination schedule are available on the Department’s website. The instructor can be contacted by email for any enquiries (office hours, exam dates, syllabus). Additional teaching materials, such as lecture slides or scientific publications related to the topics covered, are made freely available to students on UniStudium throughout the course.
- Learning verification modality
- Oral examination and/or written tests, both mid-term and final, 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, also through an illustrated presentation.
- Extended program
- Objectives of Systematic Botany. Taxonomic categories. Classification systems. Principles and rules of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. The concept of species as the basic rank: taxonomic species and biological species. Phenotypic and genotypic variability. Intraspecific taxonomic units. 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, and eubacteria. Endocytobiosis.
Thalloid 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 (isosporous and heterosporous), 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 distinctive 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 guides or dichotomous keys, methods for herbarium preparation, and species identification in the following families: Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Corylaceae, Fabaceae, Fagaceae, Lamiaceae, Liliaceae, Oleaceae, Poaceae, Ranunculaceae, Rosaceae, Salicaceae.
Optional:
Fungi: general structural characteristics, reproduction, and ecology. Interactions between fungi and algae (lichens), and fungi–plant interactions (mycorrhizae). Main phyla: Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. - Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile
- Quality Education
Act for climate
Life on Land