701-1635-00L  Multifunctional Forest Management

SemesterHerbstsemester 2021
DozierendeM. Lévesque, S. Zimmermann
Periodizitätjährlich wiederkehrende Veranstaltung
LehrspracheEnglisch


KurzbeschreibungForests provide a variety of ecosystem goods and services. Multifunctional forest management attempts to control natural processes in a sustainable and near-natural way so that various requirements from the society can be met. Adaptivity to changing conditions (global changes), handling of conflicting goals and the development of alternative management strategies are of central importance.
LernzielAt the end of this course students will be able:

- To describe forest management and silvicultural measures for enhancing forest resilience to climate change, increased disturbances, and invasive species, and evaluate their feasibility and effectiveness in various situations;

- To concisely describe silvicultural options for the management of multifunctional forests and critically evaluate their feasibility and suitability;

- To explain the various social expectations towards forest functions and their implications for multifunctional forest management and critically analyse conflicts and synergies resulting from different forest functions;

- To carry out research on a given topic, identify relevant literature and present the results in a structured presentation and discuss the implications for forest management.
InhaltThe course will cover important topics for the sustainable management of multifunctional forests and present silvicultural strategies to fulfil a variety of forest ecosystem goods and services. Current and future challenges of forest management will be presented. The course is structured into the following sub-topics:

1) Global change and adaptive forest management
2) Invasive species: implications and mitigation measures
3) Introduced tree species: risks and opportunities
4) Silvicultural and forest management options the provisioning of multi-dimensional ecosystem goods and services.
5) Challenges and silvicultural strategies for wood production.
6) Integrative and segregative forest management approaches for biodiversity conservation.
SkriptNo class notes or text books
Lecture presentations are available for download
LiteraturLiterature will be provided for the group presentations.
Voraussetzungen / BesonderesCourse language is English. Prerequisites: Sufficient English language skills

In addition to the lectures, students need to attend 4 all-day field excursions.
Excursion topics: Forest management and climate change, Nature-based silvicultural concepts; Soil protection and forest management; Continuous cover forestry.

Participation at all 4 full-day excursions is a prerequisite for the credits.
Excursions are held in English, German and French (some German and French knowledge is good to have).

Additional field excursions focusing on the Swiss femelschlag system, the Plenter- and other uneven-aged systems will be offered during spring term in the optional course "Selected Topics of Multifunctional Forest Management". 9 all-day field trips will provide the possibility to consolidate theoretical knowledge, to apply it to real examples in the field, to discuss with forest practitioners and further consolidate what has been taught in this course. The additional course is an important part of the overall formation on forest management and is highly recommended.
KompetenzenKompetenzen
Fachspezifische KompetenzenKonzepte und Theoriengeprüft
Verfahren und Technologiengeprüft
Methodenspezifische KompetenzenAnalytische Kompetenzengeprüft
Entscheidungsfindunggeprüft
Problemlösunggeprüft
Projektmanagementgeprüft
Soziale KompetenzenKommunikationgeprüft
Kooperation und Teamarbeitgeprüft
Menschenführung und Verantwortunggeprüft
Selbstdarstellung und soziale Einflussnahmegeprüft
Persönliche KompetenzenKreatives Denkengeprüft
Kritisches Denkengeprüft
Integrität und Arbeitsethikgeprüft