Course Information
Course Objectives
A solid understanding of vegetation structure
and composition is necessary to determine how activities on rangelands and
forested lands will affect wildlife habitat, livestock forage, fire
behavior, watershed characteristics, and many other wildland values.
This course will help
you gain a foundation of knowledge necessary to:
-
Recognize the rangeland and forest vegetation attributes that can be
measured and quantified.
-
Make wise decisions about which attributes to assess or monitor based on
the limitations or values associated with specific attributes.
-
Be familiar with major field protocols for measuring vegetation
characteristics and be able to select which protocol is most relevant for
meeting objectives.
-
Summarize, discuss, and present assessment results.
Plagiarism and Cheating
Plagiarism is including graphs, pictures,
figures, and direct statements from an author without recognizing their
contribution. Plagiarism is not acceptable behavior in this class.
To learn more about plagiarism visit:
http://www.plagiarism.org and
guidelines to avoid plagiarism by Dr. Beth Newingham. It is very important that all of your answers
be original material written by you. DO NOT CUT AND PASTE material from the
readings to answer questions. I realize this is an often acceptable
technique in the workplace. However, it is not acceptable in my class. I
would consider such behavior plagiarism and will give students engaging in
this behavior a 0 for the assignment and consider giving a Failing grade for
the course.
Cheating will also not be tolerated in this
class. You can work with other to get ideas, help with calculation, or
get feedback on your final response. However, when you sit down at the
computer to compose your assignments. Every word you type needs to be your
own. DO NOT get assignments from a friend and just reword a few sentences
and state that you wrote it.
Grading
Module |
Content Summary |
Date Due |
Data Summary |
Date Due |
Total Points |
1 - Overview |
25 |
28-Aug |
- |
- |
25 |
2 - Sampling |
30 |
04-Sep |
- |
- |
30 |
3 - Soils &
ESDs |
30 |
13-Sep |
- |
- |
30 |
4 - Range Health |
30 |
18-Sep |
|
- |
30 |
5 - Density |
25 |
25-Sep |
60 |
02-Oct |
85 |
6 - Frequency |
25 |
09-Oct |
60 |
16-Oct |
85 |
7 - Biomass & Utilization |
25 |
23-Oct |
60 |
30-Oct |
85 |
8 - Cover |
25 |
06-Nov |
60 |
13-Nov |
85 |
9 - Diversity & Dominance |
25 |
27-Nov |
60 |
04-Dec |
85 |
Summary |
60 |
13-Dec |
- |
- |
60 |
|
Total |
|
|
|
|
600 |
** All assignments will be accepted by
Blackboard. All assignments are due a
midnight on Tuesday Nights throughout the semester.
**Late assignments will be
accepted for up to 6 days late (till midnight on
the Saturday night after the assignment was due) with a 50% point reduction. After 1 week
beyond the due date, late assignments will not be accepted.
Evaluation of Assignments
Criteria |
%
of Points |
Completeness
- Was all requested information included and adequately
described?
|
20% |
Accuracy
- Was information presented correct and accurate?
|
35% |
Decisiveness
- Were results and recommendations presented in a clear
decisive way?
|
35% |
Professionalism and Format
- Free of typos?
- Format okay?
- Heading included?
- Introduction included?
- Summary included?
|
10% |
Required & Recommended Books
The following books will be referred to as required or
background reading for this course. The following texts are
Interagency Technical References that are available free for download:
-
Sampling
Vegetation Attributes BLM/ST_96/002+173 ( 18
MB)
Coulloudon, B. et al. 1999. Sampling Vegetation Attributes, Technical
Reference 1734-4, Bureau of Land Management. Denver, Colorado.
BLM/RS/ST-96/002+1730
-
Measuring & Monitoring Plant Populations
BLM/RS/ST-98/005+1730 (5.1 MB).
Elzinga, C.L.,
D.W. Salzer and J.W. Willoughby. 1998.
Measuring and Monitoring Plant Populations.
Technical Reference 1730-1. Bureau of Land Management. Denver, Colorado.
USDI, BLM
The following books are also excellent references for
vegetation measurement and are recommended for purchase:
- Elzinga C.L., D.W. Salzer, J.W.
Willoughby and J.P.Gibbs. 2001. Monitoring Plant and Animal Populations. Blackwell Science.
- Bonham, C.D. 1989. Measurements for terrestrial
vegetation. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY.
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