Provide theoretical and practical skills relating to the general framework of the current climate crisis with a specific focus on forests. The expected learning outcomes are: Basic understanding of methods for describing the climate and its changes; knowledge about forests, their ecology and thier role in climate mitigation. Learn and be able to interpret case studies. Ability to apply methodologies for the study of climate change and related impacts on forests. Basic understanding of scientific articles dealing with forests and climate change.
Course Prerequisites
English language (basic); basic background of plant ecology/geobotany, general and systematic botany.
Teaching Methods
The teaching uses lectures and exercises. Power Point presentations are used for lecture and are made available to students in the related section on KIRO platform. During the exercises, students are guided in the organization, analysis and interpretation of data and case studies.
Assessment Methods
Learning is verified through a written exam including different types of questions: • Questions that ask you to indicate the meaning or definition of specific terms, aimed at verifying your understanding of the terminology used during the lessons. • Questions that require a brief description of a problem and/or a study method, aimed at verifying language proficiency, synthesis ability, and understanding of theoretical concepts. • True/False test, to verify the student's ability to answer specific questions relating to the topics covered in class. At the end of the module an in-progress test is scheduled.
Texts
The teaching uses lectures and exercises. Power Point presentations are used for lecture and are made available to students in the related section on KIRO platform. During the exercises, students are guided in the organization, analysis and interpretation of data and case studies.
Contents
Forests and climate change mitigation • Introduction to the study of climate and climate change. Current climate crisis: crucial elements, monitoring entities, available databases, and reference documents for international climate agreements. • Introduction to the study of forest ecology. Tree growth, factors influencing tree productivity and energy flows. Forest structure and dynamics. Methods of describing forest stands and main systems of forest management. • Role of forests in climate change mitigation. CO2 fluxes, carbon uptake and storage. Forest inventories and carbon sinks. Mitigation and compensation. Old-growth forests and their conservation.
