Forest Ecology and Management

Forests and human dependence on forest resources; Ecophysiology: Definition, Physiological processes, Description of biotic and abiotic factors affecting physiological processes and effects on tree and forest growth; Forest ecology as the foundation for sustainable forest management: Definition, Scope and roles, Ecosystem processes and environmental interactions; Forest ecosystem: components, levels of biological organisation and functional integration, structural and functional setups and the ecosystem concept; Production ecology: Growth of forests/carbon and biomass accumulation/storage, effect of management practices on production ecology; Biogeochemistry: Nutrient cycling and the effect of forest management on forest biogeochemistry; The Physical Environment: The dynamics of abiotic factors in forest ecosystems, Effect of forest management on the physical environmental factor; The Biotic environment: Population ecology: Structure and dynamics of populations/demographic characteristics and ecological processes/disturbances, Relations with forest management; Community ecology: Plant physiognomy and distribution along environmental gradients, Interactions between organisms, The role of community ecology in forest management; Ecological Succession: Forest ecosystem dynamics and disturbances, Mechanisms, rates and path of successional changes in forest ecosystems, Effect of forest management in succession; Silvicultural Systems: Definition, Classification and types of silvicultural systems; Regeneration methods; High forest system: clear-cutting, seed tree system, shelterwood system, selection system; Coppice system: coppice clear-cutting, coppice with standards; Formulation of silvicultural systems; Silviculture in the tropics; Introduction: Forest mensuration:  Forestry and measurements, Basic statistical terms important in forest measurement; Single tree measurement: Diameter and height, Basal area, form factor, bark thickness and volume, Tree age, Crown measurements, Single tree biomass; Stand measurement: Stand density and stocking, Stand basal area and volume, Stand biomass; Forest and woodland inventory: Introduction: definition and objectives, Sampling types and techniques, Sampling design and data collection, applications of remote sensing and GIS in forest inventory; Site assessment & estimation of growth and yield: Biophysical conditions, Volume tables and equations, Yield models; Introduction to forest management: Definition, concepts and principles, Current global issues of forest management; Sustained and regulated yield concepts: Definitions: sustainability, yield regulation, Harvest planning, Rotation, Normal forest; Forest management planning: forest management plan, policy, legal and institutional issues in forest management.