0 or 3 credits
Spring 2025 Lecture Upper Division
This course will guide students through readings, discussions, and presentations of the grand challenges that face the field of forest management. These topics will vary with each iteration of the class but may include topics such as climate change, invasive species, pressure on forest lands from a growing population, altered disturbance regimes, development of new silvicultural techniques, economic pressure at multiple scales, and shifting public perceptions on the management of forests. Students will examine and discuss these challenges from the vantage points of multiple stakeholders to gain insight into their complexity and importance. Students will read and discuss on average 2-4 research or review articles, book chapters, or other sources per week.
Learning Outcomes1Identify and discuss major challenges facing the field of forest management.
2Describe how these challenges interact and develop an understanding of how these interactions may result in amplified effects on forests.
3Understand how these challenges may be viewed from a variety of perspectives by different stakeholders.
4Identify how forest management may be used to mitigate some of the effects of these challenges.
5Organize and present an oral and written case study of a forest management scenario that is linked to multiple challenges discussed in class.
Prerequisites
made by Purdue students.