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Curricular information is subject to change
Students will have an understanding of the linkages between forests, climate change and the carbon balance, both at Irish and international levels. The impacts of afforestation, deforestation and forest degradation on world carbon budgets will be understood, as well as the use of forests in mitigation and adaptation strategies to deal with climate change.
Indicative Module Content:Lecture material covered broadly follows the following sequence. Year-to-year, the order or topics change and are updated to reflect interest within the student group or topical affairs of guest lectures etc.:
Lecture 1: Module introduction
Objective and structure of module. Discussion of general topic knowledge.
Lecture 2: Forest types I
What is Forestry? Irish and global. Natural and plantation.
Lecture 3: Forest types II
Species types, mixtures and management.
Lecture 4: Forest types III
Management types and effects of various disturbances.
Lecture 5: Environment & tree growth I
Soils and site factors and influence on growth / productivity. Plant response mechanisms to climate.
Lecture 6: Environment & tree growth II
Biology of tree growth and response to climatic factors.
Lecture 7: Environment & tree growth III
Forest growth and forest ecosystem carbon cycling.
Lecture 8: Environment & tree growth I
An introduction to dendroclimatology.
Lecture 9: Climate change effects I
Climate change impacts on forests and other ecosystems.
Lecture 10: Climate change effects II
Climate change mitigation (i) Sequestration, expansion/conservation, harvested wood products.
Lecture 11: Climate change effects III
Climate change mitigation (ii) Comparison with other land use types.
Lecture 12: Climate change effects IV
Climate change adaptation and connection with impacts and mitigation.
Lecture 13: Forest economics
Economics of growing forests and carbon credits. Concept of discounting.
Lecture 14: Fieldwork project preparation: Assessing forest carbon sequestration
Forest inventory methodology. Biomass sampling and scaling equations.
Lecture 19: Assessing forest carbon sequestration project
In-class marking of project - peer review session.
Lecture 20: Global climate change I
Introduction to global climate systems and global carbon cycles.
Lecture 21: Global climate change II
Climate change and global C-cycles II.
Lecture 22: Global climate change III
National and international climate-change policy and introduction to LULUCF.
Lecture 23: Discussion and Revision
Class-led revision session.
Student Effort Type | Hours |
---|---|
Lectures | 24 |
Field Trip/External Visits | 12 |
Specified Learning Activities | 30 |
Autonomous Student Learning | 40 |
Total | 106 |
Not applicable to this module.
Description | Timing | Component Scale | % of Final Grade | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fieldwork: Fieldwork-based project where students gather field data from a forest and analyse within group sessions. The project is presented as a professional consultancy report. | Varies over the Trimester | n/a | Graded | No | 30 |
Examination: Short-answer in-class Examination | Week 12 | No | Graded | No | 40 |
Essay: Continuous Assessment. Students choose a subject of personal interest within the scope of the module and research the topic to write a short essay. | Varies over the Trimester | n/a | Graded | No | 30 |
Resit In | Terminal Exam |
---|---|
Summer | Yes - 1 Hour |
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities
Feedback on the essay grading is provided to students through Brightspace based on personalised comments and a rubric. Generalised comments are also provided in a lecture setting. The students spend time in groups while collecting and analysing field data. Part of the grading of this assessment is based on student's grading of a peer's project. This provides them with an insight into how someone else approached the same report. The feedback oon the grading is delivered via Brightspace.
Name | Role |
---|---|
Dr Maryam Fazlollahi Mohammadi | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
Lecture | Offering 1 | Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 | Thurs 13:00 - 13:50 |
Lecture | Offering 1 | Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 | Tues 13:00 - 13:50 |