The main aim of this module is to introduce students to the major ecological plant and decomposition processes within limestone communities on the Burren. The module will also address how the vegetation and soils have developed since the end of the Ice Age, some 10,000 years ago. Plant and animal communities will be examined to see how the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) for Great Britain can be extended to define Irish plant communities. Several types of ecological succession will be investigated and models produced to show relationships between and within the various communities, as well as the associated micro-environmental parameters. The ways in which modern farming methods have changed the landscape will also be considered, as will the most appropriate strategies for conserving the best examples of surviving Irish landscapes and their unique range of plant associations. A major part of the course will involve collection and analysis of field data to be incorporated in a series of assessed reports. The module is based at the Burren Outdoor Education Centre, Turlough, Co. Clare.

A major component of the module will be to investigate those factors that limit the distribution of selected higher plants, animals, mosses, lichens and fungi. This will include the examination of microclimatic factors, substrate properties and trophic interactions. The latter will address competition in relation to competition for light, moisture and nutrients.

• An examination of Burren plant communities with emphasis on the composition and ecology of:

a) limestone communities;
b) hazelwood communities;
c) calcareous grassland, heath, turlough and mire communities;

• A study of colonisation and succession in hazelwoods and on limestone pavements. The development of plant communities associated with faetures of these pavements (solution pits, hollows, runnels, flutes, grikes) will be examined in relation to micro-topographical and micro-climatic factors. This will include an examination of the main morphological and reproductive features of the major species to discover how they might be highly adapted to their selective habitats.
• Relationships between soils types and plant communities.
• Role of animals in decomposition and herbivory
• The ecology of saprotrophic and mycorrhizal fungi.
• Conservation and management issues within the Burren National Park.
• An introduction to micro phytogeography.
• A project on a specific vegetation community or mosaic, or a specified group of plants.