Print Syllabus

Syllabus

P000106 Forest damage – Monitoring and environmental assessment, 3.5 Credits

Subjects

Education cycle

Postgraduate level

Grading scale

Prior knowledge

The course is intended for PhD students within and outside SLU and from a variety of relevant disciplines. A Master’s degree in forestry, biology, geography, environmental sciences, or a related field is required. Knowledge of English is required in order to be able to read material, contribute to discussions and complete

written assignments.

Objectives

After completing the course, the students will be able to:

Have a general understanding of environmental assessment

Understand basic concepts in setting up monitoring programs, including:

• Requirements based on the management goals
• Basic monitoring methods and sampling designs
• The concepts of accuracy, precision and statistical power
• Spatial and temporal resolution
• Uncertainty, random vs. systematic variation
• Procedures for quality assurance and quality control

Have basic knowledge of specific monitoring methods, including their potential use for monitoring incidence of damage, damaging agents of different kinds, and damage risks:

• Field surveying
•  Remote sensing
• Environmental DNA
• Camera traps
• AI-based species recognition
• Spore and insect trapping
• Tracking of ungulates

Content

The objective of the course is to provide the students with a basic understanding of environmental assessments and how to design programs for monitoring forest damage, the incidence of damaging agents and the risk of damage. The course combines theoretical lectures, practical demonstrations of monitoring and students will critically evaluate the monitoring methods they use in their respective projects.

The course starts with an introduction to the topic online followed by a weekly, digital journal club, providing the students with knowledge on basic concepts and their application to monitoring in management. Basic literature and scientific papers will be read and discussed. During the on-site week, lectures on monitoring and
sampling theory will be combined with lectures on specific methods. Theory will be combined with sampling exercises in the field and students will evaluate methods applied in their own doctoral projects.

Formats and requirements for examination

Examination is conducted through assessment of active participation in the course’s journal club, seminar discussions and oral presentation. Attendance during on-site studies is mandatory. The grading scale is pass or fail.

Additional information

The pedagogical method used during the course will be oriented towards creating a stimulating learning environment for students with diverse backgrounds in environmental sciences. Students will be expected to follow the pre-course journal clubs with weekly meetings and discussions of scientific literature in relevant topics

selected by the teachers. Each student is expected to present and lead the discussion at least once. The journal club will be followed by one week of on-site studies, including lectures, excursions with sampling exercises and group discussions. At the end, students will apply the knowledge given to their own doctoral projects followed by student presentations and discussions about the methods chosen.

Responsible department

Department of Wildlife, Fish, & Environmental Studies