FOR 204: Forest Vegetation

Course Code: FOR 204

Course Description

Identification of common forest trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. Field trip required.

Learning Objectives

Specific knowledge objectives:

Understanding of the morphology of woody plants
Understanding of taxonomic nomenclature and systematics of woody plants.
Understanding of life history, evolutionary relationships, management and economic uses of important tree species of North America.

Skills and Abilities

Field identification of trees and shrubs of the Great Lakes Region
Field identification of major genera of woody plants
Ability to use dichotomous keys and field manuals to identify unknown woody plants throughout the world.

What does all this mean? At the end of this course, you will be able to walk into any woodlot in Michigan and identify by sight virtually all of the trees and most of the shrubs. You will have an appreciation for the evolutionary relationships among these species, as well as how they interact with each other and their environment. If you travel to other regions of the country or world you will have the skills to learn to identify all the trees and shrubs you encounter.