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BI1369

Forest Ecosystem Ecology

The course focuses on the fundamental ecological principles underlying the functioning of forested ecosystems. During this course, students will be equipped with in-depth knowledge of the abiotic and biotic drivers of forest ecosystem processes and ecological communities. Here, we will emphasize the spatial and temporal scales at which these drivers act both above-and belowground. We will address terrestrial as well as aquatic environments and how the linkages between these sub-systems affect forest ecosystem processes. We pay special attention to the effects of global changes on the functioning of future forests and the ecosystem services they will provide. The course is centered on boreal forests, but we will also explore and draw examples from forested ecosystems in other parts of the world. The course consists of lectures, individual and group work, and hands-on exercises. We target students with an interest in pursuing an academic career in ecology, soil science, or forest science. The course also provides science-based knowledge relevant and applicable to conservation, forestry industry, and policy and decision-making authorities. The course is offered as an independent course.

Information from the course leader

Dear all students on the Forest Ecosystems Ecology course,

We are very much looking forward to welcoming you to the course!

We start with a Course Introduction on Tuesday 31 October at 9:00 in Aspen. This Introduction will be followed by an introduction to boreal forest ecosystems and to the group projects which you will be working on throughout the course.

You find the course schedule here on the course webpage. Once the course starts, all information you will need for each course module will be found on the course canvas page.

For those who haven't already registered for the course, please remember to do this by 31 October.

Kind regards,

Maja and Maria (course leaders)

Course evaluation

The course evaluation is now closed

BI1369-20131 - Course evaluation report

Once the evaluation is closed, the course coordinator and student representative have 1 month to draft their comments. The comments will be published in the evaluation report.

Additional course evaluations for BI1369

Academic year 2022/2023

Forest Ecosystem Ecology (BI1369-20132)

2022-11-01 - 2023-01-15

Academic year 2021/2022

Forest Ecosystem Ecology (BI1369-20021)

2021-11-02 - 2022-01-16

Academic year 2020/2021

Forest Ecosystem Ecology (BI1369-20099)

2020-11-02 - 2021-01-17

Syllabus and other information

Litterature list

**Course book: **

Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology (2011). Chapin F.S. III, P.A. Matson, and P.M. Vitousek. Springer Science + Business Media, LLC, New York.

Modules – reading list:

Introduction to forest ecosystem ecology

• Course book chapter 1

Carbon

• Course book: chapters 5-7

• Additional papers:

Koch et al 2004 The limits of tree height, Nature, 428:851-854.

Bonan, G. B., 2008 Forests and climate change: Forcings, Feedbacks, and the Climate Benefits of Forests, Science 320:1444-1449.

Wei et al., 2014 3-PG simulations of young ponderosa pine plantations under varied management intensity: Why do they grow so differently? Forest Ecology and Management, 313:69-81.

Janssens et al., 2001, 7, 269-278 Productivity overshadows temperature in determining soil and ecosystem respiration across European forests, Global Change Biology, 7:269-278.

Berg, B., 2018, Decomposing litter; limit values; humus accumulation, locally and regionally, Applied Soil Ecology, pp 494-508

Water

• Course book chapters 4, 5 (p.129-133), 7 (p. 217-223), 9 (p. 263-266)

• Additional papers:

Ellison D. et al. 2017. Trees, forests and water: Cool insights for a hot world. Global Environmental Change 43: 51-61

Evaristo J. et al. 2015. Global separation of plant transpiration from groundwater and streamflow. Nature 525: 91-94

Allen G.H. and Pavelsky T. M. 2018. Global extent of rivers and streams. Science 361: 585-588.

Hoset et al. 2019. Enhancement of primary production during drought in a temperate

watershed is greater in larger rivers than headwater streams. Limnol. Oceanogr. 64

Cycling of nutrients, hydrogen ions and element biogeochemistry

• Course book chapter 9 (197-220)

• Additional papers:

Van Breemen et al., 1983. Acidification and alkalinization of soils. Plant and soil 75:283-308.

A.J.B. Zehnder and B.H. Svensson, 1986, Life without oxygen: what can and what cannot? Experimentia 42: 1197-1205

Course facts

The course is offered as an independent course: Yes The course is offered as a programme course: Forest Ecology and Sustainable Management - mastersprogramme Forest Science - Master's Programme Tuition fee: Tuition fee only for non-EU/EEA/Switzerland citizens: 38060 SEK Cycle: Master’s level (A1N)
Subject: Forest Science Biology Biology Forest science
Course code: BI1369 Application code: SLU-20131 Location: Umeå Distance course: No Language: English Responsible department: Department of Forest ecology and Management Pace: 100%