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BI1281

Plant Physiology

The course concentrates on the crop plants. Lectures cover:



  • cellular structure and form: cells, chloroplasts, cell walls



  • systems for transport and structural support: shoot, root



  • the root: mining for water and mineral



  • the shoot: assimilation of light and carbon dioxide, photosynthesis



  • transport systems for water and minerals, organics



  • growth and development: stem cells, flower, reproduction, seed and germination



  • protection against abiotic stresses and competing life forms, secondary metabolism



  • usefulness from the human perspective, plant breeding




In laboratory practicals (compulsary) plant development and adaptability will be studied. The results will be presented and discussed in written reports.


Information from the course leader

2021-10-31
Välkommen till kursen!
Welcome to the 2021 course in Växtfysiologi (BI1281)!

Content: This course is structured around acquiring a strong understanding of plant physiology to give you an opportunity to understand how plants grow and develop. You will learn how plants have evolved, how they reproduce and how plants have been modified by people for beneficial uses. You will also learn how plants interact with their environments: whether coping with diseases or adapting to challenging or changing environments. Course start: The first lecture will take place on Tuesday November 2nd at 10:15am in Sal S (Ulls hus E-blocket).

Teaching method: The course includes lectures that deal with key areas of plant physiology. Two laboratory exercise are included that introduce principles of plant hormones and stress response. The course will have a combination of in person and zoom-based activities to accommodate SLU guidelines and departmental guidelines for Covid-19. Students will be on campus approximately two days per week. Labs will be performed in groups of three students. The group division takes place the first day of the course. Feel free to think of group suggestions before then. Updates to the course include additional discussion sessions, new lab structure and a new teacher.

Schedule: The course structure this year will be a hybrid between online and in-person teaching. Five lectures will be in person and seven via Zoom. Two discussion sessions are also included. Six lab sessions will take place in person. The final exam will be in person. The course is bilingual. Approximately half of the lectures will be in Swedish and half in English; labs are in English. The schedule is available on the course website and Canvas (preliminary until the course starts). Zoom links for the lectures will be posted on Canvas. Be sure to join the course Canvas page.

Textbook: The course textbook this year will be Campbell et al: Biology: A Global Approach, Global Edition (12th edition). Some of you might have the 11th edition from previous years and that fine to use. Page references are available for both textbooks. The textbook is recommended but not mandatory.

Examination: The BI1281 course is divided into two parts, a lab part (2hp) and a lecture-based part (5.5hp). To complete the lab-based part (2hp), attending the three lab sessions and submitting and passing two lab reports is also required (grading: pass/fail). To complete the lecture-based part (5.5hp), attending the introductory lecture is mandatory as is passing a written exam (grading: 5,4,3,U). It is necessary to pass both lab and lecture components to complete the BI1281 course. The final exam is on Thursday Dec 2nd from 8am to 12pm.

Questions? Send me an email.

Welcome to the course!

Charles Melnyk, course leader (charles.melnyk@slu.se)

Course evaluation

The course evaluation is now closed

BI1281-20081 - Course evaluation report

Once the evaluation is closed, the course coordinator and student representative have 1 month to draft their comments. The comments will be published in the evaluation report.

Additional course evaluations for BI1281

Academic year 2023/2024

Plant Physiology (BI1281-20202)

2023-10-31 - 2023-11-30

Academic year 2022/2023

Plant Physiology (BI1281-20063)

2022-11-01 - 2022-12-01

Academic year 2020/2021

Plant Physiology (BI1281-20152)

2020-11-02 - 2020-12-02

Academic year 2019/2020

Plant Physiology (BI1281-20108)

2019-11-01 - 2019-12-03

Academic year 2018/2019

Plant Physiology (BI1281-20097)

2018-11-05 - 2018-12-09

Academic year 2017/2018

Plant Physiology (BI1281-20006)

2017-10-30 - 2017-12-03

Syllabus and other information

Litterature list

  1. Biology: A Global Approach, Global Edition, 12th Edition Författare: Campbell, Urry, Cain, Wasserman, Minorsky, Reece & Orr ISBN: 9781292341637 [Biology: A Global Approach, Global Edition, 12th Edition] (https://www.pearson.com/uk/educators/higher-education-educators/program/Campbell-Biology-A-Global-Approach-Global-Edition-12th-Edition/PGM2886412.html?tab=formats) Kommentar: The textbook is recommended and a helpful resource. If you’re buying a new textbook, then the 12th edition is the latest version (new for 2020). The 11th edition has been previously used and also works perfectly well for this course

Course facts

The course is offered as an independent course: Yes The course is offered as a programme course: Biology and Environmental Science - Bachelor's Programme Tuition fee: Tuition fee only for non-EU/EEA/Switzerland citizens: 19027 SEK Cycle: Bachelor’s level (G1F)
Subject: Biology Biology
Course code: BI1281 Application code: SLU-20081 Location: Uppsala Distance course: No Language: Swedish Responsible department: Department of Plant Biology Pace: 100%