1 Jul
6 Jul

Online and one intensive week of lectures and excursions in Alnarp (1-6 July)

PhD course: Forest fire ecology and fire impacts on ecosystems and society

seminars, workshops |

This course will give an overview of the fire ecology in the boreal and temperate forests of the Northern Hemisphere, with the focus on the boreal Eurasia. The course will provide a broad overview of fire as a disturbance factor in Earth ecosystem and will lay ground for a more in-depth understanding of its impacts in the past and the future

The course will explore the role of fire in boreal and temperate ecosystems and the subsequent effects on plant/animal communities and the society. It will focus predominantly on boreal and temperate systems, although some attention will be given to other biomes where fire plays an important role (e.g. regions with Mediterranean climate and Arctic).

After the course, the student will be able to:

# Reflect upon and understand the Holocene dynamics of forest fire as the primary factor affecting Nordic vegetation, global biogeochemical cycles.

# Discuss modern and likely future trends in dynamics of forest fire, as affected by climate and human land use.

# Elaborate on methods designed to study fire at multiple time and spatial scales.

Express your interest in participating to the course and register to the course  by contacting course leader Igor Drobyshev. For more information on the course read the course syllabus.

Facts

Time: 2024-07-01 - 2024-07-06
City: Online and one intensive week of lectures and excursions in Alnarp (1-6 July)
Organiser: Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre
Additional info:

 

An important note concerning the timing of different course elements:
The course consists of three elements:
(a) reading assignments and online lectures (given during the first half of June, available also as pre-recorded lectures) ,
(b) lectures and excursions during the intensive week in Alnarp (1-6th July), and
(c) online lectures (available also as pre-recorded lectures) and a written assignment (to be completed during July).


Programme

The course content includes lectures on the following topics:


# Global role of fire over the Holocene

# Role of fire in boreal and temperate ecosystems

# Fires and forest biodiversity: mixed-severity vs. high-severity fires

# Interactions of fires with other disturbance agents

# Carbon dynamics driven by fire activity

# Dendrochronological analyses of past fire histories

# Paleochronological proxy of past fire activity: advantages and limitations

# Fire and humans; economy of fire suppression: is there an optimal solution?

# Climatology of fire activity in the Nordic region

# Fire behavior and its modelling

# Effect of fire on animal populations