Silviculture of Temperate Forests

Last changed: 28 March 2023

The first-year Euroforester courses provide extensive knowledge about management and silviculture of Scots pine and Norway spruce, the backbone of Swedish forestry. In this course, we have a focus on silviculture of deciduous tree species common in the temperate forest biome, a topic of growing importance in this time of climate change and risks arriving with it. If this interests you, then Silviculture of Temperate Forests is a course for you!

This course is about silviculture for the sustainable management of temperate forests in Europe. We will study and discuss a wide range of silvicultural paradigms and visit forests where these are implemented. We will look at even-aged plantation forestry, continuous cover forestry, close-to-nature forestry, multifunctional forestry, forestry for high-quality timber production, urban forestry, restoration forestry and historical management approaches.

The course emphasizes ecologically-based and nature-oriented silviculture and includes many different forest types. We will examine 10 conifer species and 20 hardwood species in detail and we will visit forests where these are managed in pure as well as mixed stands. There will be classroom lectures, classroom exercises, field trips, outdoor lectures, field exercises, group work, student presentations and interactive discussions. The course includes two week-long field trips in Denmark, Germany or other European countries and some one-day tours in Sweden. Students pay the costs of accommodation (youth hostels) and meals during the study tours and cover part of the travel costs.

See you in September!

Jens Peter Skovsgaard