FOR 204Silvics and Forest Dynamics
Foresters are tasked to manage and/or restore forest ecosystems to sustain the provision of ecological goods (e.g., timber and non-timber forest products) and services (e.g., water, habitat, carbon sequestration). To successfully achieve these objectives, it is essential to know the life history and characteristics of trees (silvics). Specifically, knowledge about tree (co-)occurrences in forest communities, their tolerances and growth responses to different environmental conditions, their life history traits regarding different disturbance regimes, and their interactions that shape stand dynamics and stand development pathways, is prerequisite for practicing silviculture and forestry. This course is designed for forestry and wildlife professionals, conservation biologists, and natural resource professionals interested in the silvics of forest trees and stand dynamics of different forest types across North America as the scientific foundation for implementing sustainable forest management. The course is intended to lay the foundation for developing critical thinking skills linking silvics, site factors, and disturbances to multiple stand development pathways.