RS 531 - World Grassland Ecogeography

Prerequisite

BZ 223 (Plant Identification).

Description

This course covers distribution, climate, and structure of the world's major grasslands with emphasis on North America.

The lectures address the following questions: (1) What are the important rangeland ecosystems in the western United States and the world?, (2) Where are they?, and (3) Why do they occur?

The plant identification lab addresses the following questions: (1) What are the important plant species in rangeland ecosystems in the United States?, (2) What are their characteristics?, and (3) Can I (the student) identify them?

By the end of the course, students will be able to describe and locate the major rangeland ecosystems in the western United States and the world, and discuss the factors that control those ecosystems. Students will also be able to identify many of the important plant species that occur in rangelands in the western United States by family, genus, and species, and also describe the species (i.e., ecosystem type it occurs in).

This course can be applied towards:

• Agricultural Extension Education (M.Agr.)
• Rangeland Ecosystem Science (M.S.)

Textbooks and Materials

Textbooks and materials can be purchased at the CSU Bookstore unless otherwise indicated.

Required

• North American Terrestrial Vegetation, 2nd Ed. (1999)
  M. Barbour and D. Billings
• North American Wildlland Plants: A Field Guide, 6th Ed. (2004)
  Stubbendieck, J., et al
  ISBN: 9780803293069

Instructors

Robert Woodmansee
Robert.Woodmansee@colostate.edu

Dr. Bob Woodmansee is a professor of Forest, Rangeland and Watershed Stewardship at Colorado State University.