April 4-9, 2010: Advanced Experimental Plant Ecology Workshop----Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden,CAS

Advanced Experimental Plant Ecology Workshop

To be chaired by

Roy Turkington, Professor

Dept. of Botany & Biodiversity Research Center

·　　　　 To be jointly held by KIB (Kunming Institute of Botany), XTBG ( Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden) and YU (Yunnan University)

·　　　　 To be held at Yunnan University

·　　　　 The workshop lasts for 6 days, approximately 4 hours each day

·　　　　 Itinerary, April 4（Sunday）to April 9 (Friday), 2010

·　　　　 A lecture will be delivered each morning.. Afternoon session will be “free” to visit locally, work with students’ manuscripts, chat with students or whatever else!

·　　　　 Participants: Approx. 15 core participants will be identified from the 3 institutions for the full workshop. Another 15 will attend the lectures but will not take part in the research proposals

Proposed outline for the workshop

DAY	LECTURE TOPIC	POSSIBLE RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1	An introduction to the history of ecology, and ecological research, ecological questions, and the scientific method; descriptive ecology, experimental ecology, applied and basic ecology, patterns and processes, hypothesis testing etc.
2	Invasive species	We could ask questions about plants’ invasion, and perhaps their control, and restoration. We could apply this to any invasive species in the region e.g. Eichhornia crassipes (also called "water hyacinth"),
2	Biodiversity: what ecological conditions allow stable coexistence of up to 40 species per m2 in a grassland or 300 per ha in a forest?	China has 30% of the world’s plant species, and 30% of those are found in Yunnan Province. What are some of the ecological conditions that promote this high diversity? Is it well documented – a good research program here!
3	Ecosystem function	We could choose any species, or groups of species, and ask how their removal (or loss) might affect how the ecosystem functions. For example, what are some of the potential consequences to Ecosystem function if Shorea and other species are replaced by rubber plantations?
3	Abundance: why weeds and rare species?	We could choose any rare or infrequent species and ask why it is not more abundant, or why it does not have a wider distribution?
4	Natural and semi-natural experiments	Aswan high dam in Egypt Three Gorges dam in China Sichuan earthquake
5	Why is the world green?	This topic asks why herbivores do not increase in such numbers to entirely decimate vegetation. This will be a general consideration of what is popularly known as “top-down” vs. “bottom-up” control.
6	The basic determinants of community structure.	The role of competition, herbivore, predators and chance events in determining the structure of plant communities.

It is free to change the topics as necessary before the final inform be given. The participants’ research interests or questions will be added to the topics and questions as needed.