The course teaches the theoretical principles and practical methods of dendroecology. Students learn to date and analyze tree rings in order to reconstruct ecological processes, environmental changes and climatic influences.

This course conveys the basics of forest ecology with an emphasis on trees as those organisms that dominate the physiognomy and the dynamics of forest ecosystems. Based on this course, students have a good grasp of the qualitative and quantitative importance of forest ecosystems at the global and regional scales, with a focus on central Europe.

The course introduces applied statistical methods as used in current research in environmental sciences. Students learn to analyse data sets using the R software package, critically interpret results and assess the suitability of statistical methods for different questions.

Introductory course on important elements of the ecology of mountain forests of the temperate zone, with a focus on tree population dynamics and ecosystem ecology. The two major goals are to provide to students the scientific basis for the management of these systems, and to introduce students to the modern state-of-the-art research on selected topics.

The field course offers an introduction to the field of mountain forest ecology and management of mountain forests. The students learn in a group to carry out a project based on a self-defined research question.