Use the Tab and Up, Down arrow keys to select menu items.
Ecosystem services from forests; Cultural services provided by forests; Soil and water conservation and management; Biodiversity conservation and management; Forest restoration; Policy, regulation, certification; Sustainable use of native forests for production; Management planning and monitoring.
This course provides an overview of the broader environmental and cultural issues associated with forestry in Aotearoa New Zealand within the framework of ecosystem services. The course will focus on all components of the environment: biodiversity and the biotic environment, the physical environment, and the human/social environment. Ecosystem services are the goods (such as food and fibre) and services (such as water yield) that the human population derive, directly or indirectly, from ecosystems and are fundamentally important because the well-being of human society is totally reliant on them. Forests are particularly important as they provide many key ecosystem services that are not necessarily provided by other comparable land uses such as farming. This course will focus on a range of the ecosystem services provided by forestry including biodiversity conservation, soil and water conservation, and cultural services. However, fibre production will not be covered here as this is addressed in other courses. We will also consider the policy frameworks within which ecosystem services are managed in Aotearoa New Zealand. We will be placing a particular emphasis on bicultural competence and confidence as Māori are key players in New Zealand forestry as landowners, as managers, and as a people to whom forests are an essential part of life.
Students will be able to:Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the NZ policy and regulatory framework, and international voluntary mechanisms, within which plantation forestry operates;Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the cultural, soil and water, and biodiversity values (ecosystem services) that arise from forests and evaluate the effects of plantation forest management on these values;Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the contribution forestry sicence can make to forest restoration and biodiversity conservation;Demonstrate an understanding of the relationships, historic and modern, between Māori and forestry;Generate management prescriptions to avoid adverse environmental impacts by integrating environmental considerations into forest management planning;Apply regulatory, voluntary and stakeholder considerations to respond to an environmental incident in an appropriate manner; andDemonstrate proviciency in summarising and effectively communicating complex scientific information to land managers, forestry professionals, Treaty partners, and external stakeholders.These learning outcomes represent advanced specialised and theoretical knowledge that will enable you to contribute directly to decision making processes, both in the forest industry and in government agencies, associated with the environmental impacts of plantation forestry.
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:
Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award
Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.
Employable, innovative and enterprising
Students will develop key skills and attributes sought by employers that can be used in a range of applications.
Biculturally competent and confident
Students will be aware of and understand the nature of biculturalism in Aotearoa New Zealand, and its relevance to their area of study and/or their degree.
Subject to approval by Head of School.
FORE444, FORE445, BIOL379, FORE447
Students must attend one activity from each section.
Sarah Wyse
All students are must have good quality tramping/hiking boots for this course (must cover your ankles) - this is a health and safety requirement for forestry operators at some of the sites you will visit.
Domestic fee $1,268.00
International fee $5,650.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see School of Forestry .