Interdisciplinary study of issues for advanced students. Designed to develop skills in critical analysis of specific issues. Different topics will be available each semester reflecting faculty and student interest. Major research project required.

California has over 30 million acres of forest land which includes the world’s oldest, tallest, and largest trees. Healthy forests play a crucial role in the fight against climate change and are critical to California’s economy. In this course, we will learn about the complex interactions among forest inhabitants and explore how the abiotic environment shapes the establishment of forests. We will focus on factors affecting forest structure, composition, and productivity and discuss how forests change over time. We will also examine the many challenges forests face under global change and learn about science-based methods of forest management and restoration. This course is designed to introduce students to key ecological processes and provide fundamental knowledge of forest function that will be useful to both foresters and non-foresters alike.

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