Trees are important elements and drivers of ecosystem processes in forests and landscapes. Tree species diversity and intraspecific genetic diversity are relevant factors for continuous adaptation, required for a sustainable maintenance of forest products and services. Sustainable forest and landscape management under climate change has to take forest genetic resources into consideration.

Woody plants are important elements of forest ecosystems and landscapes. The course gives an introduction to dendrology as well as to the identification of native tree and shrub species. It is a highly recomended course for the BSc specialization of Forest and Landscape and it provides the basic requirements for the consecutive course Woody Plants of Central Europe in the spring semester.

This course introduces plant ecology. Through lectures, exercises and excursions, students will gain a broad vision of the cutting edge topics that are being researched and studied at the Department of Environmental Systems Science at ETH and WSL. This will be the base for a future dialog between the field of landscape architecture and the field of sciences.

Trees and shrubs are significant structural elements of forests and landscapes and drivers of several important ecosystem processes. The course builds on the Introduction to Dendrology (Autumn Semester) and provides a wide survey about the woody plant flora of Central Europe as well as an in-depth knowledge of the identification, the ecology and the use of a large palett of selected species.