Plants and Global Warming: From Cell Function to Ecology and Evolution

This course offers an immersive exploration of the intersection between climate change and plant biology, focusing on the effects of global warming on plants at different scales: from physiological stress responses to species distribution, ecological relationships and evolution. Through a combination of lectures, paper discussions, laboratory experiments, presentations and debates, students will delve into the mechanisms by which plants respond to environmental change and implications for agriculture and conservation. Emphasizing active learning, students will collaborate in small groups to analyze research papers, conduct experiments, and prepare presentations or debate key questions. Evaluation will be based on participation in discussions, lab reports, and final presentations/debates. By the end of the course, students will develop an understanding of how climate change may impact plant physiology, in turn affecting evolutionary responses and future distribution.