Sustainable Forest Environment-E2
| Numbering Code | U-LAS61 10016 LE80 | Year/Term | 2022 ・ First semester | |
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| Number of Credits | 2 | Course Type | Lecture | |
| Target Year | Mainly 1st & 2nd year students | Target Student | For all majors | |
| Language | English | Day/Period | Tue.2 | |
| Instructor name | KOCH, Michael Conrad (Graduate School of Agriculture Program-Specific Assistant Professor) | |||
| Outline and Purpose of the Course |
"Forest sustainable management and their use of resources are key to combating climate change, and to contributing to the prosperity and well-being of current and future generations" - The UN. Along with carbon sequestration, forests play a major role in the hydrological cycle, maintain biodiversity, provide food, raw material for shelter and means for recreation. Following this ethos, this course provides an introduction to forestry science and management. The course can be divided into three parts related to (i) understanding of the critical role forests play on earth, (ii) threats faced by forests ecosystems, and (iii) methods, tools and management for forest sustainability. Understanding the interactions in a forest ecosystem is critical for the sustainable exploitation and management of forest resources. Stricter environmental laws today mandate Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of any state significant project in forest areas e.g. mining, dams and road projects. Understanding and mitigating the negative impacts, like the possible extinction of downstream fish species after the construction of a dam, become important issues for such projects. Students interested in a career in consultancy in EIA and forestry in general will find the concepts of this course helpful. |
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| Course Goals | Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able (1) to understand scientific methods for characterizing the physical and living environment in forests and understand the interactions between these components, (2) to explain the concepts of sustainability for tackling forest environmental issues, and (3) to develop tools and frameworks for sustainable management of forests. | |||
| Schedule and Contents |
1. Introduction - Forests and the global ecosystem 2. Silviculture basics 3. Forest soils 4. Water, Carbon, Nitrogen and other nutrient cycles 5. Ecological energetics 6. Forest biodiversity 7. Natural threats to forest ecosystems 8. Logging and sustained yield 9. Ecological footprint 10. Sustainable Forest Management - I 11. Sustainable Forest Management - II 12. Environmental Impact Assessment - I 13. Environmental Impact Assessment - II 14. Revision and self-learning week 15. Examination 16. Feedback |
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| Evaluation Methods and Policy |
Students' evaluation will be based on (1) applying knowledge through answering mini-quizzes (20%); (2) developing scientific communication skills through writing summary reports of book chapters, research papers and oral presentation (30%); (3) writing a short essay of a case study using critical & problem-solving skills (10%); (4) final examination (40%) |
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| Course Requirements | None | |||
| Study outside of Class (preparation and review) | Students are encouraged to read and review reading materials before classes. Outcome of the reading will be assigned as a class performance, which accounts for the final grade. | |||
| Textbooks | Textbooks/References | There is no official textbook for this course. The content of the course is an assembly of selected topics from various textbooks, references, online sources and libraries. | ||
