Syllabus
1) Introduction – significance of forests for the Earth – climate system feedback, biodiversity, society, basic data on forests on the Earth;
2) Forests and their role in carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, hydrological cycle;
3) Forest soils;
4) Tree growth, the effects of environmental conditions on tree growth;
5) Forest ecology 1 – competition, facilitation, seedling establishment and survival;
6) Forest ecology 2 – forest structure, disturbances;
7) Climate change and forests;
8) Forest inventory in the Czech Republic;
9) Man and forest – use and environmental impacts of human activities on forests;
10) Forest types of the Earth 1;
11) Forest types of the Earth 2;
12) Forest management and forest law in the Czech Republic;
13) One day field excursion
Annotation
The course of Forest Geography provides basic overview of the importance of forests for Earth climate system, water runoff from landscape, biodiversity and economy. We will point out basic ecological processes that determine forest dynamics, special emphasis will be given to the role of forest disturbances.
At individual tree level, interaction between tree and environment and the main factors influencing tree growth and transpiration will be stressed as well. Further, the main forest types on the Earth (forest biomes) will be described. We will also deal with forest management issues and the history of man influence on forests.
The course will be organized as lectures together with discussion on readings related to lecture’s topic.