Plant and Animal Diversity: Values and Risks
A.Y. 2024/2025
Learning objectives
The main purposes of the course are:
1. to identify the most important plants and animals (both useful and harmful), their approximate taxonomic placement and their economic relevance on a local and global scale
2. to recognize animals and plants and products thereof encountered in everyday life.
3. to understand the issues related to the process of domestication of plants, its consequences, the potential of technology to improve sustainability of agriculture and wildlife exploitation, and the effects, both positive and negative, of regulatory oversight.
1. to identify the most important plants and animals (both useful and harmful), their approximate taxonomic placement and their economic relevance on a local and global scale
2. to recognize animals and plants and products thereof encountered in everyday life.
3. to understand the issues related to the process of domestication of plants, its consequences, the potential of technology to improve sustainability of agriculture and wildlife exploitation, and the effects, both positive and negative, of regulatory oversight.
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course the students should be able to evaluate both domesticated and wild forms of plants and animals as resources of economic relevance and to identify species for their potential to be or to become useful or harmful to humans and ecosystems.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
The following topics will be covered during the course:
- General: hunters and gatherers and the transition to farming. Origins of crops/ domestic animals and the domestication syndrome: major and minor traits; consequences on food safety, food security and environmental safety.
- Plant diversity: characteristics of crop plants, major classes thereof, their uses and major commodity classes. The nutritional components of crops: carbohydrates, proteins, oils, vitamins, micronutrients, fibres. Concepts of yield, harvest index and yield potential and their evolution in human history. Relevance of crop processing /storage. Are crops /domestic animals natural?
- Agrobiodiversity: value, mechanisms creating diversity and domestication centres. The Convention on Biodiversity and the Cartagena Protocol: effects vs. desires. Available strategies to improve agricultural sustainability and wild plants exploitation, with emphasis on ag-biotechnology. Positive and negative effects of regulatory oversight of old and new technologies.
- Animal diversity: a brief introduction on animal domestication and current exploitation of wild animals; economical values and sustainability issues (fishing, aquaculture, insect culture, hunting, etc.); alternative food resources to reduce the environmental impact of protein production for human consumption.
- Invasive Alien Species: major impacts and pathways of introduction; relationships between trade, economy, and the spread of alien invasive animals and plants; impacts of invasive alien species on humans, economy, and ecosystems; services provided by biodiversity and impacts of IAS on ecosystem services.
- Working lands conservation: strategies to support biodiversity while providing goods and services for humanity over the long term, ensuring sustainability and resilience
- Species distribution modelling in R: how to retrieve occurrence data on species distribution and information on climate and other environmental features; modelling the distribution and spread of alien species.
- General: hunters and gatherers and the transition to farming. Origins of crops/ domestic animals and the domestication syndrome: major and minor traits; consequences on food safety, food security and environmental safety.
- Plant diversity: characteristics of crop plants, major classes thereof, their uses and major commodity classes. The nutritional components of crops: carbohydrates, proteins, oils, vitamins, micronutrients, fibres. Concepts of yield, harvest index and yield potential and their evolution in human history. Relevance of crop processing /storage. Are crops /domestic animals natural?
- Agrobiodiversity: value, mechanisms creating diversity and domestication centres. The Convention on Biodiversity and the Cartagena Protocol: effects vs. desires. Available strategies to improve agricultural sustainability and wild plants exploitation, with emphasis on ag-biotechnology. Positive and negative effects of regulatory oversight of old and new technologies.
- Animal diversity: a brief introduction on animal domestication and current exploitation of wild animals; economical values and sustainability issues (fishing, aquaculture, insect culture, hunting, etc.); alternative food resources to reduce the environmental impact of protein production for human consumption.
- Invasive Alien Species: major impacts and pathways of introduction; relationships between trade, economy, and the spread of alien invasive animals and plants; impacts of invasive alien species on humans, economy, and ecosystems; services provided by biodiversity and impacts of IAS on ecosystem services.
- Working lands conservation: strategies to support biodiversity while providing goods and services for humanity over the long term, ensuring sustainability and resilience
- Species distribution modelling in R: how to retrieve occurrence data on species distribution and information on climate and other environmental features; modelling the distribution and spread of alien species.
Prerequisites for admission
Knowledge of basic taxonomy and physiology of plants and animals. Knowledge of genetics and breeding of plants is helpful but not a requirement.
Teaching methods
Lectures will be delivered in traditional format using powerpoint slides. Attendance is strongly recommended to familiarize with the practical exercises and the crop samples presented during the lectures. Usually a field visit to an agricultural area south of Milan is programmed after the first lectures to experience the effect of domestication on crop survival.
Teaching Resources
Lectures (ppt or pdf files) and additional material (original literature, notes and bibliographic material) will be made available through the dedicated MyAriel website.
The suggested textbook for the plant part of the course is "Plants and Society", 8th Edition by Estelle Levetin and Karen McMahon; two copies are available in the university library of Via Celoria, 18.
The suggested textbook for the plant part of the course is "Plants and Society", 8th Edition by Estelle Levetin and Karen McMahon; two copies are available in the university library of Via Celoria, 18.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Learning is assessed orally for approximately 20 minutes for each part by means of practical exercises (e.g. gathering, displaying and interpreting data from public databases, such as FAO-stat, or the identification of plants or plant products) and the ability to critically discuss the evidence in favour or against an argumentation on the topics discussed during lectures.
BIO/04 - PLANT PHYSIOLOGY - University credits: 3
BIO/05 - ZOOLOGY - University credits: 3
BIO/05 - ZOOLOGY - University credits: 3
Lessons: 48 hours
Professors:
Falaschi Mattia, Morandini Piero Angelo
Professor(s)
Reception:
Please, contact me by email to fix an appointment
via Celoria 10, building 22120, floor -1