Course Overview

The forest covers Taiwan from the coast to the top of mountains of nearly 4,000 m elevations. The environment influencing the floristic composition is highly heterogeneous, and at the same time, two floristic kingdoms are coexisting on this island. These and other factors result in a high diversity of forest communities in Taiwan, which we are going to observe and interpret.
This course will be composed of theoretical lectures and field excursions. In the lectures, instructors will introduce important factors influencing the distribution and floristic differentiation of forest in Taiwan and the other regions. There will be three field excursions; instructors would guide the first two, and students the third as a part of practice and the final exam. In the first two excursions, instructors will help students to explore the forest diversity and its relevant environmental factors. Students will lead the third trip and prepare it in advance. It's necessary for students to read relevant literature about the region, and if possible even visit the region before the excursion. Students, in turn, will take independent leads, to give them an opportunity to show what they know in general about forest ecology and specifically about the vegetation in a particular region, and how able they are to explain this knowledge to the others.

Learning Achievement

The goal of this course is to train the student as professional English-speaking guides for introducing the forest of Taiwan. Students will learn how to discover the diversity of forest in Taiwan, observe the characters of different forest vegetation types and their distribution, and practice how to explain the observed pattern to the public.

Competence

Course prerequisites

*There will be several excursions during the semester. Casualty insurance is strictly required for each trip. Students themselves should pay all personal expenses including personal equipment, traffic, food, accommodation and insurance.

Grading Philosophy

Course schedule

Course type

Online Course Requirement

Instructor

Ching-Feng Li

Other information

School of Forestry and Resource Conservation, Program in Taiwan Studies

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