NTRES 6400 - Forest Ecology

(OPHLS-AG) (CU-CEL, CU-SBY)

Fall. 3 credits. Student option grading.

Prerequisite: two semesters of college-level biology. Co-meets with NTRES 4200.

T. Fahey.

Comprehensive analysis of the distribution, structure, and dynamics of forest ecosystems. Topics include paleoecology of forests; ecophysiology of forest trees; disturbance, succession, and community analysis; and hydrology, primary productivity, and nutrient cycling. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in community discussions relevant to Forest Ecology through programs coordinated by the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation.

Outcome 1: Better understand the scientific process and how it is used to determine controls on the distribution and abundance of organisms.

Outcome 2: Learn the patterns of distribution of principal forest trees in North America.

Outcome 3: Understand natural disturbance regimes and how they influence and interact with the composition, structure and function of forest ecosystems.

Outcome 4: Learn to quantify energy flow, hydrology and biogeochemistry of terrestrial ecosystems.

Outcome 5: Better understand the potential influence of human activities on composition and function of forests and limits to scientists’ ability to predict forest change.

Outcome 6: For graduate credit students will learn to integrate information from the primary scientific literature on forest ecology.