Forest Ecology - For 330
Who should take this course?
This course is required for all students in Forestry, Resource Conservation, and Recreation degree programs. It is also open to students from other colleges and departments that are interested in honing their skills in field ecology and natural history, and gaining a deeper understanding of the scientific foundation for forestry and conservation practices and issues relating to forest landscapes.
Why is this class important?
Ecology is the foundational field that helps explain the many complex
relationships that govern the characteristics and responses of ecosystems to
natural disturbances, human caused disturbances, and natural forces including
geology, soils, climate, species interactions, and historical factors. Ecology
helps explain the theory behind many of the management and conservation
practices in natural resource fields.
What will I learn?
- General principles and theories of ecology with particular emphasis on interdisciplinary ecosystem perspectives to help students develop a broader and more integrated view of ecosystems and their processes. This provides the theoretical foundation for disciplines such as silviculture and range management.
- Enhance skills in conducting field studies, field observation and methods, analysis, data interpretation and presentation, learning how to integrate observations and theory, and share in the excitement of discovering new things in the field!
- Integrate information from basic biology, soils, physical processes, earth history, and plant ecology as a conceptual foundation for students to better understand the scientific basis for current conservation practices, environmental issues and policy debates, such as biodiversity conservation, fire management, and global warming.
Prerequisites
Students must have taken a general biology course (e.g. Biol 120, or Biol 108/109) and soils (for 210) or an equivalent natural science class.
Who teaches the class?
The instructors for the course Paul Alaback and John Goodburn. They have both done extensive research on ecological relationships and their applications to conservation problems in forest landscapes both here in Montana and in other temperate forest regions.