Skip to main content
Skip header

Engineering Ecology

* Exchange students do not have to consider this information when selecting suitable courses for an exchange stay.

Course Unit Code546-0495/03
Number of ECTS Credits Allocated4 ECTS credits
Type of Course Unit *Compulsory
Level of Course Unit *Second Cycle
Year of Study *First Year
Semester when the Course Unit is deliveredWinter Semester
Mode of DeliveryFace-to-face
Language of InstructionCzech
Prerequisites and Co-Requisites There are no prerequisites or co-requisites for this course unit
Name of Lecturer(s)Personal IDName
STA35doc. Ing. Barbara Stalmachová, CSc.
Summary
Production ecology. Principles and processes of photosynthesis. Plant and environment. Fitness. Autecology and synecology. Human ecology.
Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit
Engineering Ecology disseminates till now obtained knowledge (in the bachelor
study). Students must know and understand ecological processes in ecosystems and their components.The study of Ecology will be linked with ecological physiology, evolutionary ecology and biosystematics. Applications and argumentations. Determination of CR flora.
Course Contents
1. Ecosystem, definition, components, properties, changes over time; basic concepts and examples. Food links, trophic chains and networks, regulation.
2. Cycles of substances, biogeochemical cycles, methods of studying the balance of mineral nutrients and their cycle in the ecosystem. Nutrient recovery in ecosystems, the key role of decomposition. Energy flows, ecosystem productivity, information transfer, regulation.
3. Ecosystem dynamics, ecosystem activity. Limiting factors, minimum and tolerance laws, ecological niche.
4. Radiation - modification of solar radiation, adaptation of plants to radiation, heat balance, plant temperatures, adaptation of plants to temperature, methods of studying abiotic components of the ecosystem - radiation, temperature, air humidity, precipitation, heat balance.
5. Atmosphere, pollution, effects of pollution on plants and communities.
6. Hydrological cycle, small and large water cycle, consequences of cycle disturbance by deforestation, regulation of flows and influence of dam bodies. Nutrient balance in aquatic communities, cycle of C, N, S, P, Fe, Mn in the aquatic environment, importance of aerobic and anaerobic processes
7. Pedosphere - importance of plants for soil formation, influence of relief on soil formation, dependence of plants on soil chemistry, principles of soil research, physical factors, chemical factors, foreign and harmful substances in soil.
8. Community structure: communities and their components; relative abundance; food webs; community arrangement; ecotone; competition and its influence on the development of the structure of communities; planar dynamics; saturated vs. unsaturated communities. Metasociety.
9. Development of communities; types and models of succession; primary vs. secondary succession, causes, structural and energetic changes during succession; climax; convergence/divergence of communities; coevolution, community structure, ecological pyramids, trophic levels
10. Species diversity vs. diversity; environmental heterogeneity; alpha-, (beta-), gamma- diversity; diversity and production, competition and environmental variability, disturbance; "species-area" dependence; Rapoport's rule, theory of island biogeography; island phenomena.
11. Bioindication, biomonitoring, phenology. Principles of biodiagnosis, bioindication, ecological monitoring, methods of bioindication, methods of ecotoxicology.
12. Man and the environment. Climatic adaptation - influence of air temperature and humidity, air composition and radiation. Cultural aspects of climate adaptation. Man and biotic environmental factors. Ecopathology. Health risks in developed countries.
13. Classification of ecosystems with human participation. Types of ecosystems, forms of management, energy aspects of human ecosystems. Problems of urbanization. Synanthropization and synurbanization of plants and animals. Ecosystem services.
Recommended or Required Reading
Required Reading:
BEGON M.,HARPER J.L.,TOWNSEND C.R.: Ecology -individuals, populations and commnunities. Blackwell Scien. Publ., 2006.
BROWER J., VON ENDE C.N. Field and laboratory methods for general ecology. McGraw-Hill. 2010.
PARDO S., PARDO M. Statistical Methods for Field and Laboratory Studies in Behavioral Ecology. Chapman & Hall/CRC Applied Environmental Statistics. 2018.
SMITH R.L., SMITH T.M. Elements of Ecology. Pearson. 2015.

BEGON, M., J. L. HARPER a C. R.TOWNSEND. Ekologie: Jedinci, populace a společenstva. Olomouc: Univerzita Palackého, 1997. ISBN 80-7067-695-7
LACHER, W. Fyziologická ekologie rostlin. Praha: Academia, 1988. ISBN 21-102-88
MÍCHAL, I. Ekologická stabilita. Brno: Veronica, 1994. 244 s. ISBN 80-8536-822-6
BEGON, M., J. L. HARPER a C. R. TOWNSEND. Ecology: Individuals, Populations and Commnunities. Blackwell Publishing, 2006. ISBN 978-1-4051-1117-8
Recommended Reading:
LARCHER, W. Physiological plant ecology. Berlin: Springer, 2003
KREBS C.J. Ecological Methodology. 2nd Edition. Addison Wesley Longman, Menlo Park etc. 1999.
RICKLEFS R. Ecology: The Economy of Nature. WH Freeman. 2018.
GLIESSMAN S.R. Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems. CRC Press. 2015.
STORCH, D. a S. MIHULKA. Úvod do současné ekologie. Praha: Portál, 2000. 160 s. ISBN 80-7178-462-1
LAŠTŮVKA, Z. a P. KREJČOVÁ. Ekologie. Brno: Konvoj, 2000. 185 s. ISBN 80-85615-93-2
CHYTRÝ M. a kol. Katalog biotopů České republiky. Praha: AOPK, 2010. 304 s. ISBN 978-80-87457-02-3
LAECHER, W. Physiological Plant Ecology. Springer, 2003. 513 s. ISBN 978-3-540-43516-6
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Lectures, Tutorials, Experimental work in labs, Terrain work
Assesment methods and criteria
Task TitleTask TypeMaximum Number of Points
(Act. for Subtasks)
Minimum Number of Points for Task Passing
Credit and ExaminationCredit and Examination100 (100)51
        CreditCredit33 17
        ExaminationExamination67 34