Management and consequences of forest damage
This course explores the management and consequences of abiotic events and biotic agents affecting forest ecosystems. The effects of abiotic factors such as fire, drought, snow, and wind and biotic factors such as insect pests, pathogens, and wildlife, and their combinations on forest health will be assessed. Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of how to manage these damages through prevention, mitigation, and restoration techniques and the trade-offs between management practices. The course emphasizes strategies to enhance forest resilience, with a focus on adaptive management and the use of resistant species to future-proof forests against such damage. The course will highlight the role of government interventions and financial considerations in forest management. Emerging threats, such as invasive species and the impact of climate change, will also be addressed. Together these topics will prepare students to manage and adapt to future challenges in forest health.
Syllabus and other information
Syllabus
P000130 Management and consequences of forest damage, 3.5 Credits
Subjects
Education cycle
Postgraduate levelGrading scale
Language
EnglishPrior knowledge
The course is intended for PhD students within and outside SLU and from a variety of relevant disciplines. PhD students should hold a Master’s degree in forestry, plant sciences, biology, environmental sciences, or some related field.Objectives
This course explores the consequences of forest damage caused by abiotic and biotic factors, emphasizing the management strategies employed to address their ecological and economic impacts. After completing the course, students will be able to:
- Consider management strategies to mitigate forest damages and recognize their potential trade-offs.
- Understand the ecological and economic consequences of forest damage.
- Discuss the role of policy and economic factors in forest damage management.
- Analyze emerging threats to forest health and propose adaptive management strategies.
Content
The course will be delivered through a combination of online lectures, journal clubs and an on-site study week. The journal clubs will involve weekly meetings and discussions of scientific literature, with each student expected to present and lead the discussion at least once. The on-site week will include lectures, group discussions, presentations, and field excursions. By the end of the course the students will have created a research project proposal on a topic of forest damage which will be submitted for evaluation.
In this course, students will learn the major consequences of forest damage, how to manage these damages sustainably, and how policy influences these management methods.
Additional information
Online meetings begin in September for three weeks, followed by one week in person, and then another three online meetings. Online meetings will consist of lectures from experts on a given topic of forest damage and group discussions of pertinent literature. For the onsite week, in addition to in-person lectures, students will present a case study of a type of forest damage to the group. There will also be excursions to field sites in Skåne to exemplify certain types of forest damage and their management. Preliminarily, there will be an excursion to Snogeholm to see management of ash dieback disease through resistance selection and to see silvicultural methods of managing damage with production. Other excursions to study fire damage and root rot are also envisioned.The course will be taught in English.
Responsible department
Department of Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre