NTRES 4200 - Forest Ecology

(OPHLS-AG) (CU-SBY)

Fall. 3 credits. Student option grading.

Prerequisite: two semesters of college-level biology.

T. Fahey.

Comprehensive analysis of the distribution, structure, and dynamics of forest ecosystems. Topics include paleoecology of forests; ecophysiology of forest trees; disturbance, succession, and community analysis; and hydrology, primary productivity, and nutrient cycling.

Outcome 1: Better understand the scientific process and how it is used to determine controls on the distribution and abundance of organisms.

Outcome 2: Learn the patterns of distribution of principal forest trees in North America.

Outcome 3: Understand natural disturbance regimes and how they influence and interact with the composition, structure and function of forest ecosystems.

Outcome 4: Learn to quantify energy flow, hydrology and biogeochemistry of terrestrial ecosystems.

Outcome 5: Better understand the potential influence of human activities on composition and function of forests and limits to scientists’ ability to predict forest change.