220-201 Native Forest Ecosystems & Biodiversity

654-142 Genetics and Evolution of Life; 207-103 Ecology or 606-204 Ecology: Communities & Ecosystems; 220-213 Trees and Forests.

This subject covers:

• composition, structure and dynamics of global native forests and woodlands;

• the range of Australian forests and woodlands - environmental gradients, natural disturbance regimes, pre-settlement forests and their present condition;

• relationship between forest history, response to disturbance, and forest structure;

• the role of fungi and invertebrate fauna in sustaining forest biodiversity;

• natural and managed regeneration of different forest types, regeneration processes and sources of regeneration; phenology of important genera;

• role of treed and forested ecosystems for conservation and biodiversity, monitoring and understanding biodiversity, corridors and fragmentation;

• ecosystem services performed by forests and woodlands;

• contributions of plantations and farm forests to biodiversity.

On completion of this subject students should have:

• A profound respect for truth, intellectual and professional integrity, the principles of learning, and the ethics of scholarship;

• A capacity for independent critical thought, innovation, rational inquiry and self-directed learning and research;

• An ability to identify and describe the biophysical, social and economic resources of natural and modified ecosystems, and integrate this information on a catchment scale;

• An ability to interpret the ecological history of individual forest and woodland sites, including the history of disturbance and human intervention;

• An awareness of and ability to utilise appropriate communication technology and methods for the storage, management and analysis of data;

• Highly developed oral communication skills to allow informed dialogue and liaison with peers, and with individuals and groups from industry, government and the community.

One three-hour examination (40% of final marks), two project reports totalling 4000 words (40%) including an appropriately presented collection of relevant forest insects, and a group presentation (20%).

• P Attiwill and B Wilson (eds), Ecology: an Australian Perspective. Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Vic, 2003.