Forest Conservation Biology
This course provides knowledge of the field of conservation biology with a specific focus on applications in forested landscapes. The teaching consists of a mix of self-work and real-time learning activities: lectures, literature seminars, projects, excursions and exercises.
The course consists of several parts: Natural and anthropogenic disturbance regimes, Forest biodiversity and its assessment, Conservation measures in forests, Key ecological concepts in conservation biology, Single-species conservation approaches, Global change, The societal context of nature conservation, and Multifunctional forests and urban ecology. Each part uses both lectures and at least one other type of teaching (such as literature seminars, projects and exercises). Literature seminars play an important role for deepening the knowledge and improve scientific thinking.
The course is given as a distance course. Literature seminars, written reports, oral presentations, excursions and the written exam are compulsory.
Information from the course leader
Welcome video
Here is a link to a 2-minute welcome video: https://youtu.be/c7tre_t7BI0
2020-11-27
Literature
The text book is available online (see link below) Below is the course literature listed, with the dates indicating the connection with the time plan: 21 January: Sodhi & Ehrlich Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Hortal, J. et al. (2015) Seven shortfalls that beset large-scale knowledge of biodiversity. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 46: 523-549. 22 January: Sodhi & Ehrlich Chapter 10 4 February: Groom, M.J. et al. (2005) Chapter 11 Conservation genetics: the use and importance of genetic information. In: Principles of Conservation Biology. 3rd ed. Pp. 375-415. Supple, M.A. & Shapiro, B. (2018) Conservation of biodiversity in the genomics era. Genome Biology 19:131. Sodhi & Ehrlich Chapter 5 Jackson, S.T. & Sax, D.F. (2010) Balancing biodiversity in a changing environment: extinction debt, immigration credit and species turnover. TREE 25: 153-160. 11 February: Hanski, I. & Gaggiotti. O.E. (2004). Metapopulation biology: past, present, and future. In: Ecology, genetics, and evoluation of metapopulations. Pp. 3-22. 18 February: Ranius, T. A population viability analysis of a beetles inhabiting hollow trees 19 February: Butchart, S.H.M. et al. (2010) Global biodiversity: indicators of recent declines. Science 328: 1164-1168. 25 February: Kuuluvainen, T. (2002) Natural variability of forests as a reference for restoring and managing bio-logical diversity in boreal Fennoscandia. Silva Fennica 36: 97-125. Ramberg, E. et al. (2018) Coordination through databases can improve pre-scribed burning as a conservation tool to promote forest biodiversity. Ambio 47: 298–306 26 February: Nilsson, S.G. (2008) Biodiversity and sustainable forestry in changing landscapes – principles and southern Sweden as an example. Journal of Sustainable Forestry 21: 11–43. 3 March. Sodhi & Ehrlich Chapter 7. 4 March: Sodhi & Ehrlich Chapter 8. Felton, A. (2016) How climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies can threaten or enhance the biodiversity of production forests: Insights from Sweden. Biological Conservation 194: 11-20. Edenius, L., Bergman, M., Ericsson, G. & Danell, K. (2002) The role of moose as a disturbance factor in managed boreal forests. Silva Fennica 36: 57-67. 11 March: Felton, A. et al. (2020) Keeping pace with forestry: Multi-scale conservation in a changing production forest matrix. Ambio 49: 1050-1064. 12 March: Bullock, J.M. et al. (2011) Restoration of ecosystem services and biodiversity: conflicts and opportunities. TREE 26: 542-549. Nogues-Bravo, D. et al. (2016) Rewilding is the new Pandora's box in conservation. Current Biology Magazine 26: R87-R91 Seddon, P.J. et al. (2014) Reversing defaunation: Restoring species in a changing world. Science 345: 406-412. 31 March: FAO 2018. Forest Policy – Basic knowledge. 15 April: Schröter, M. et al. (2014) Ecosystem services and opportunity costs shift spatial priorities for conserving forest biodiversity. PLOSOne 9:e112557 7 May: Duinker, P.N. et al. (2017) Chapter 34. Urban woodlands and their management. Routledge handbook of urban forestry. Fay, N. & Butler, J. (2017) Chapter 33. Conservation of ancient and other veteran trees. Routledge handbook of urban forestry. Sodhi & Ehrlich Chapter 13.7, P. 253.
2020-11-27
Welcome to the course
This is a distance course, and due to the new corona virus we only meet online. The course takes place at half-time, with activities planned during the second half of each week. Several synchronous activities (e.g. literature seminars) are compulsary, which means that you have to be present in front of your computer at certain times. However, many activities are asynchonous, so you can do them when it suits you.
Course evaluation
The course evaluation is now closed
BI1378-30289 - Course evaluation report
Once the evaluation is closed, the course coordinator and student representative have 1 month to draft their comments. The comments will be published in the evaluation report.
Additional course evaluations for BI1378
Academic year 2023/2024
Forest Conservation Biology (BI1378-30088)
2024-01-15 - 2024-06-02
Academic year 2023/2024
Forest Conservation Biology (BI1378-20046)
2023-10-31 - 2024-01-14
Academic year 2022/2023
Forest Conservation Biology (BI1378-30165)
2023-01-16 - 2023-06-04
Academic year 2022/2023
Forest Conservation Biology (BI1378-20115)
2022-11-01 - 2023-01-15
Academic year 2021/2022
Forest Conservation Biology (BI1378-30027)
2022-01-17 - 2022-06-05
Syllabus and other information
Syllabus
BI1378 Forest Conservation Biology, 15.0 Credits
Skoglig naturvårdsbiologiSubjects
Forest Science Biology Forest scienceEducation cycle
Master’s levelModules
Title | Credits | Code |
---|---|---|
Debate and debate paper | 2.0 | 0102 |
Litterature seminar | 3.0 | 0103 |
Excursion | 1.0 | 0104 |
Written examination | 9.0 | 0105 |
Advanced study in the main field
Second cycle, has only first-cycle course/s as entry requirementsMaster’s level (A1N)
Grading scale
The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.
Language
EnglishPrior knowledge
The equivalent of 120 credits at basic level including- 60 credits in Biology or
- 60 credits in Forest Science or
- 60 credits in Forest Management or
- 60 credits in Environmental Sciences or
- 60 credits in Landscape Architecture or
- 60 credits in Agricultural Sciences or
- 60 credits in Natural Resource Management or
- 60 credits in Forestry and Wood Technology
and
English 6.
Objectives
The aim is to provide students with advanced knowledge in the field of conservation biology with a specific focus on applications in forested landscapes. Students will be able to increase their depth of subject knowledge and ability to work independently and get a stronger understanding of how the knowledge could be applied by stakeholders.
After finishing the course, the students should be able to:
Explain important theories and concepts in ecology which are used in conservation biology, and their application in forest-related nature conservation;
Define biodiversity and compare different ways to assess biodiversity in forest ecosystems;
Describe the natural conditions and processes in Swedish forests, how anthropogenic disturbances (such as forestry, climate change, changed land use) affect biodiversity (currently, in the past, and in the future), and propose appropriate conservation and restoration approaches;
Describe and compare different types of conservation measures taken in Swedish forested landscapes;
Discuss how conservation of biodiversity may be in conflict or support other societal goals;
Acquire, critically analyse, and discuss scientific literature within the field of conservation biology.
Content
This course provides knowledge of the field of conservation biology with a specific focus on applications in forested landscapes. The teaching consists of a mix of self-work and real-time learning activities: lectures, literature seminars, projects, excursions and exercises.
The course consists of several parts: Natural and anthropogenic disturbance regimes, Forest biodiversity and its assessment, Conservation measures in forests, Key ecological concepts in conservation biology, Single-species conservation approaches, Global change, The societal context of nature conservation, and Multifunctional forests and urban ecology. Each part uses both lectures and at least one other type of teaching (such as literature seminars, projects and exercises). Literature seminars play an important role for deepening the knowledge and improve scientific thinking.
The course is given as a distance course. Literature seminars, written reports, oral presentations, excursions and the written exam are compulsory.
Grading form
The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.Formats and requirements for examination
Approved written exam, approved oral presentations and written reports, and participation in compulsory seminars and excursions.
- If a student has failed an examination, the examiner has the right to issue supplementary assignments. This applies if it is possible and there are grounds to do so.
- The examiner can provide an adapted assessment to students entitled to study support for students with disabilities following a decision by the university. Examiners may also issue an adapted examination or provide an alternative way for the students to take the exam.
- If this syllabus is withdrawn, SLU may introduce transitional provisions for examining students admitted based on this syllabus and who have not yet passed the course.
- For the examination of a degree project (independent project), the examiner may also allow the student to add supplemental information after the deadline for submission. Read more in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.
Other information
The right to participate in teaching and/or supervision only applies for the course instance the student was admitted to and registered on.
If there are special reasons, students are entitled to participate in components with compulsory attendance when the course is given again. Read more in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.
Responsible department
Department of Ecology
Cooperating departments:
Further information
Grading criteria
The grade for the entire course is based on the grades on the debate, the excursion and the written exams (including the assignment in genetics) described below.
Debate and debate article, 2.0 credits
Scale: 5, 4, 3 or U (fail) (which is used for the grading of the course, but for the module only Pass or Fail is visible)
To pass this module the student needs to participate in the debate April 22nd and write a debate article (deadline April 23rd).
To get grade 3 requires:
- Active participation in oral debate.
- Article with 12 arguments with some support.
- Article with appropriate language and structure.
To get grade 4 requires:
- Everything required for grade 3.
- The article should have at least 3 arguments, which are highly relevant and wellsupported.
- The article should be easy to read, which means that it is linguistically correct and well structured.
To get grade 5 requires:
- Everything required for grade 4.
- The article has throughout an argumentation that is clear and logical.
- The text is throughout wellwritten and concise.
Literature seminars, 3.0 credits
Scale: Pass or Fail
To pass this module the student needs to participate in the online seminars Feb 17th; March 5th; March 17th; April 9th; April 16th; and May 7th. This means that the student (i) is prepared to discuss questions for each scientific paper, and (ii) presents scientific papers for the group members when responsible.
Excursion, 1.0 credits
Scale: 5, 4, 3, and U (fail) (which is used for the grading of the course, but for the module only Pass or Fail is visible). Due to the new corona virus there will not be any excursions in the field this year.
To get grade 3 requires:
- Do all field work and answer all questions according to the instructions in the assignment with a deadline May 21st.
To get grade 4 requires:
- Everything required for grade 3.
- The answers to several of the questions reveals a broad and deep knowledge of the subject.
- The answers are easy to read, since they are linguistically correct and wellstructured.
To get grade 5 requires:
- Everything required for grade 4.
- The answers to most of the questions reveals a broad and deep knowledge of the subject.
- The text shows an ability to connect the field observations with general knowledge about forest ecology.
- The text is throughout concise.
Written exam, 9.0 credits
Scale: 5, 4, 3, and U (fail)
The written exam consists of three parts: the written part of the assignment in Conservation genetics (deadline February 26th), and two take home exams (March 19th and one in May 26th-28th).
The written report in the Conservation genetics assignment will be assessed as follows:
To get grade 3 requires:
Shows comprehensive understanding of conservation genetics concepts
To get grade 4 requires:
Shows comprehensive understanding and an ability to link together conservation genetics concepts in a logical way
To get grade 5 requires:
Shows depth and breadth in understanding of conservation genetics concepts and an ability to link together conservation genetics concepts in a logical way
The written exam will test the ability regarding the following aspects:
- Describe nature conservation with respect to its societal context, explain its scientific foundations, and structurally discuss underlying ethical values;
- Explain important theories and concepts in population biology, community ecology, ecosystem ecology, and landscape ecology and their application in forest-related nature conservation;
- Define biodiversity and compare different ways to assess biodiversity in forest ecosystems;
- Describe the natural conditions and processes in Swedish forests, how anthropogenic disturbance affect biodiversity, and propose appropriate conservation and restoration approaches;
- Describe different types of conservation measures taken in Swedish forested landscapes
- Explain the roles of actors in the forest sector regarding nature conservation and give examples on how their perspectives on nature conservation differ
- Give examples on how ecological knowledge can be combined by knowledge in other disciplines to find solutions in nature conservation, for instance when handling conflicting goals in multifunctional forests
To get grade 3 requires
- Basic abilities regarding all seven aspects described above. Basic abilities means that key terms can be explained and patterns described.
To get grade 4 requires
- Everything required for grade three.
- Everything required for all modules (debate article, excursion, written exam) have been sent in before the deadlines.
- For several of these aspects, the student shows a knowledge which especially is deeper, but also wider. This means that also processes behind the patterns can be explained and that the patterns can be described from different perspectives. Wider knowledge means that a larger number of terms can be explained and more patterns be described relevant for forest conservation biology.
- The student can make a reasonable choice about which knowledge that should be used in different practical examples.
To get grade 5 requires
- Everything required for grade four
- For almost all of these seven aspects, the student shows especially a deep, but also wide, knowledge. This means that also processes behind the patterns can be explained and that different perspectives on the same patterns can be compared. Wider knowledge means that a larger number of terms can be explained and more patterns be described relevant for forest conservation biology.
- The student can discuss which knowledge that should be used in different practical examples and the consequences of different choices.