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FY5303: TEMPERATE SILVICULTURE: APPLIED FOREST ECOLOGY (2015-2016)

Last modified: 25 Mar 2016 11:37


Course Overview

Current theory and practice of silviculture will be covered in five themes to allow you to explore the science of establishing and maintaining forest stands, building resilience to abiotic damage, thinning, regenerating forests, and understanding the dynamics of regular and irregular forest structures . Weekly lectures will consolidate the processes of growth and development of single trees and of whole forest ecosystems. Discussions during the lectures will encourage inquiry and informed argument. One main assignment based on a real forest scenario will allow you to demonstrate individual thought and analysis.

Course Details

Study Type Postgraduate Level 5
Session First Sub Session Credit Points 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus None. Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Andrew Cameron

Qualification Prerequisites

None.

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • One of MSc Ecology & Environmental Sustainability (Studied) or MSc Forestry (Taught) (Studied) or MSci Biological Sciences (Studied)
  • Either Any Postgraduate Programme (Studied) or BI4015 Grant Proposal (Passed)
  • Either Any Postgraduate Programme (Studied) or MSci Biological Sciences (Studied)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

Establishment of forests – decisions on where to plant new forests, what types of forest do we need; choice of tree species – native vs non-native; forest tree production; natural regeneration – dynamics of natural regeneration in relation to canopy cover; forest nutrition – nutrient cycles within forest stands.

Forest stability – growth and morphology of tree root systems, effects of wind and snow loading on trees, mechanics of overturning and stem snap.

Regular and irregular stand structures – thinning forest stands – selective thinning, non-selective thinning, thinning species mixtures, determining rotation length

Silvicultural systems– uniform shelterwood, strip and accessory systems; group, irregular shelterwood and selection systems.

Transformations – monocultures to species mixtures, regular to irregular stand structures.

Non-standard silvicultural systems – high grading and diameter-limited cutting; restoring damaged forests – improvement, enrichment and replacement.

Associated Costs

None

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 31 August 2023 for 1st half-session courses and 22 December 2023 for 2nd half-session courses.

Summative Assessments

Assessment is based on one extended assignment (75% of marks) and one presentation (25% of marks).

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Feedback

None.

Course Learning Outcomes

None.

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