tree

Module name  
Tree Structure and Function 
Forest Ecology and Management
Module coordinator 
 
Prof. Dr. Heinz Rennenberg    Email:  heinz.rennenberg@ctp.uni-freiburg.de 
Additional teaching staff 
Prof. Dr. Siegfried Fink, Dr. Jürgen Kreuzwieser 
Syllabus 
- Structure of roots, mechanisms of water and nutrient uptake by roots; significance of 
mycorrhizal symbiosis 
- Structure of xylem and phloem; xylem and phloem transport and transpiration  
- Leaf structure; CO2-exchange and photosynthesis in woody plants; tree respiration 
- Meristems and growth (cambium, shoot and root primordia, differentiation) 
- Source/sink relations in trees and its seasonality 
- Physiological basis of carbon fluxes in forest ecosystems   
- nutrient requirements of trees, consequences of nutrient deficiency and excess 
- regulation of tree nutrition 
- nutrient storage and mobilization  
Learning goals and qualifications  
The students will: 
- 
achieve an in depth understanding of carbon relations of trees from the molecular via the 
physiological, eco-physiological and tree to the stand level. 
- 
learn the role of trees in water relations of forest and the mechanisms involved in water 
acquisition, water transport inside the tree and water vapour flux into the atmosphere.  
- 
obtain a detailed understanding of nutrient requirements of trees, nutrient aquisition, the 
mechanisms involved and its regulation 
- 
understand the relations between structural aspects at the cell, tissue and organ level 
and the respective physiological functions  
- 
become competent in linking growth processes at the cell and tissue level to “classical” 
growth parameters used in forestry (annual rings, volume yield etc.) 
  

---

 
Teaching and learning methods 
Lectures, tutorials  
Prerequisites 
none 
Requirements for registration 
none 
Distribution of work load  
Contact hours               80 h (Lectures, pracs, excursion, exam) 
Student learning          45 h (Preparation, reading etc.) 
Proposed assessment 
 
Link to learning resources   
 
Preliminary Reading 
Marschner H (1995) Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants. Academic Press, London 
Landsberg JJ and Gower ST (1997) Applications of Physiological Ecology to Forest 
Management. Academic Press, San Diego 
Dickison, W.C. (2000): Integrative Plant Anatomy. Academic Press, San Diego 
Tyree, M.T. and M.H. Zimmermann (2002): Xylem Structure and the Ascent of Sap. 2nd. Ed. 
Springer, Berlin 
Comments 
 
 

---