Silviculture of Temperate Forests

The aim of the course is to attain scientific knowledge and understanding of forest ecosystem processes and related carbon dynamics as basis for the development of management interventions for the sustainable provision of society wide goods and services. We explore this aim from the analysis of temperate forests through lecturers, excursions, and exercises on the scientific evaluation of experimental data submitted in course reports.

Themes of the course include:

Temperate forest ecosystems

This part provides a background understanding of the diverse world of temperate forest ecosystems, examining their biogeography of tree species assemblies, historical distribution patterns, and ecological dynamics. We address the productive capacity of the forest and the significant influence of human activity on these ecosystems.

Silvicultural Systems and Climate change Adaptation

This part of the course explores the manipulation of the forest ecosystem for the long-term sustainable provision of various goods and services for a society with increasing demands for the forest ecosystems, e.g. timber, carbon uptake and storage, biodiversity, and recreation. It covers a number of subjects including:

• Tree species selection and assessment of site-species interactions.
• Regeneration and afforestation techniques including natural regeneration, direct seeding, and planting,
• Spacing, thinning, pruning, and harvest planning and the effect on growth and stem quality
• Adaptation of forest ecosystems and management to climate change

Individual tree interactions and close-to-nature forest management

An important aspect of contemporary management of forests is the application of close-to-nature forest management principles to improve forest stability, sustainability and economics. During the course, we explore individual tree interactions in the context of uneven-aged, mixed species forest management. Among other things, we investigate:

• Interactions between trees of different species and sizes and their effect on forest growth and wood quality
• Close-to-nature forest management principles and practices
• Conversion strategies from even-aged plantations to unevnaged forests

The forest carbon cycle and climate change mitigation

This part of the course focuses on the critical role of forests in the global carbon cycle, starting with an exploration of natural forest carbon dynamics. It then delves into the complex interactions between the forest ecosystem carbon cycle and human-engineered systems (eco-technosphere) in the context of forest management. Finally, it highlights the contribution of forests to climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration and sustainable management practices.