PhD course: Introduction to GIS for applications in forest and landscape. 3 ECTS
The aim with the course is to get a basic understanding and practical experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), specifically within forestry applications and within a landscape matrix context.
Start date: 20 January 2026 09:00
End date: 12 February 2026 16:00
Organiser: Department of Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre
Location: Alnarp, Online
Last day of registration: 22 December 2025
The course gives an introduction to GIS systems. This refers to database management, visualisation and processing of spatial data and information. In the course the students will learn about origin and structure of spatial data, in vectorised features and in rasters, and how this information can be assessed and visualized. Current open data sources for forestry attributes and landscape data is part of learning activities and the students have the opportunity to critically assess and use the contemporary used GIS in Swedish forestry. Exercises in GIS is combined with knowledge transfer on how landscape and land use changes over time. The course includes quantitative analysis of forest attributes and how to sample own data in a field mobile application.
The course is organized in four modules. Each module ends with an assignment which also will be peer reviewed, so that he students learn and get inspiration from each other. First module introduces the basics of GIS and geospatial data, and outlines main components of GIS interface. Second module addresses main features of vector data, attribute table management, and basics of spatial analysis based on the vector data. Third module introduces raster data and its main sources, basics of satellite imagery, and spatial analysis based on raster data. Fourth module is focused on an applied landscape analysis involving field data collection linked to GIS software.
The course will be given as a distance course, available for all SLU campus PhD students. The course will be given at 50 % pace, over 4 weeks. Two scheduled sessions per week are time set aside for lectures and joint lab work and two scheduled sessions per week are time set aside for individual assistance with the assignments.
If many students from the same campus participate in the course, the scheduled sessions can be arranged as campus based meetings instead of distance, if lecture halls are available.
For more information on the course read the course information in LADOK