Education and Courses
F&ES 52013b,
Principles in Applied Ecology: The Practice of Silviculture. 4 credits. The scientific
principles and techniques of controlling, protecting, and restoring the
regeneration, composition, and growth of natural forest vegetation and
its plantation analogs. Analysis of biological and socioeconomic
problems affecting specific forest stands and design of silvicultural
systems to solve these problems. Applications are discussed for
management of wildlife habitat, water resources, urban resources,
timber and nontimber products, and landscape design. Recommended: some
knowledge of soils, ecology, plant physiology, human behavior, and
resource economics. Four hours lecture. One hour tutorial. Seven days
fieldwork. Mark S. Ashton.
F&ES 50114a, Management Plans for
Protected Areas. 6 credits.
A seminar that comprises the documentation of land use history and
zoning, mapping and interpretation, and the collection and analysis of
socioeconomic, biological, and physical information for the
construction of management plans. Plans are constructed for lands
managed by the Nature Conservancy, Massachusetts Trustees of
Reservations, private industrial and nonindustrial landowners, town
land trusts, city parks and woodlands of New Haven, New York, and
Boston, and the Appalachian Mountain Club. Prerequisites: F&ES
52013b or 52016a; F&ES 32114b; F&ES 84002b; or permission of
the instructor. Eight days fieldwork. Limited enrollment. Mark S.
Ashton, Thomas G. Siccama.
F&ES 50115b, Rapid Assessments in
Forest Conservation. 3 credits. An
advanced interdisciplinary course concerned with assessing the
protection and management of biologically diverse, complex forested
ecosystems that produce various goods and services. Examples of
independent case analyses concern landscape management of biogeographic
regions in the Pacific Northwest, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Venezuela,
Belize, central and southern Mexico, and the Panama Canal Watersheds.
Students are encouraged to travel on extended class field trips to
these regions. Prerequisites: F&ES 52013b or 52016a; F&ES
32114b; F&ES 84002a; or permission of the instructor. Three hours
lecture. Eight days fieldwork. Limited enrollment. Mark S. Ashton,
Susan G. Clark.
F&ES 50117a, Analysis of
Silvicultural Problems. 3 credits.
An advanced course exploring the silvicultural options for problem
stands. Problems can be both biological (fire, pathogens) and social
(multiple value conflicts, property rights). Solutions are sought
through synthesis and analysis of relevant literature for case studies.
Quantitative silvicultural and economic techniques are used for
comparative evaluation of solutions. Prerequisites: F&ES 52013b or
52016a; F&ES 84001a or 84002a; or permission of the instructor.
Mark S. Ashton.
F&ES 50118a, Seminar in Advanced
Silviculture. 2 credits.
This course considers selected topics in silviculture for students with
previous instruction in silviculture. Two hours lecture. Mark S. Ashton.
F&ES 50119a,b, Field Trips in
Forest Resource Management and Silviculture. 1 credit. Seven- to
twelve-day field trips to study the silviculture and forest management
of particular forest regions. In previous years, classes have visited
Slovenia, Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom, British Columbia, and,
in the United States, the southern Coastal Plain and Piedmont, and the
Allegheny, Appalachian, Adirondack, and Green mountains. Mark S.
Ashton, Ann E. Camp.
