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701-1446-00L 4 Credits DR , MSC D-USYS

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Forest and Landscape Conservation and Management (Block Course)

Lecturers & Examiners: Prof. Dr. Jaboury Ghazoul

Priority is given to Master students in Environmenatal Sciences with the Majors Forest and Landscape Management, Ecology and Evolution, and the Environmental Systems and Policy. PhD students in Environmental Scineces count also as target group.

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Last Updated: 2026-06-01 11:33:19

Abstract

Landscape restoration and conservation is subject to biophysical, socio-economic, and political constraints, demanding socio-ecological systems understanding. Drawing on existing initiatives, and the perspectives of a range of stakeholders, students will explore how restoration might be implemented across social and environmental priorities in Scotland, a country undergoing rapid landscape change.

Objective

Specific learning objectives include: Natural science focus 1. Experience different management approaches to restoration, and evaluate their social and environmental costs and benefits. 2. Identify important biophysical components and their dynamics, and consider how they can be objectively measured. 3. Identify ecological and biophysical interactions and constraints across landscapes, and consider how these can be managed given conservation/restoration objectives. 4. Understand risks and uncertainties of conservation and restoration actions, and how these are perceived by different actors. Social science focus 5. Identify alternative visions for future landscapes across different stakeholder groups, given differing stakeholder perspectives and priorities. 6. Consider how values are attributed to natural resources or landscape elements, as perceived by different stakeholders. 7. Identify conflicts that arise, and how these are addressed across different stakeholder interests. 8. Explore how alternative governance structures influence restoration decision making pathways. 9. Consider financial mechanisms to leverage funding for restoration projects. Integrative focus 10. Construct conceptual models of socio-ecological systems. 11. Develop and evaluate ecosystem management strategies using a multi-functional landscape approach.

Content

Students will visit multiple sites and programmes that are implementing different forms of conservation and restoration objectives. These cases encompass different scales, priorities, land uses, and governance structures. Students will collect information and data from a variety of stakeholders, sources, and settings, and use this information to build a socio-ecological systems understanding of conservation and restoration in Scotland. Students will be responsible for running interviews, and securing the further qualitative and quantitative information they need for a systems modelling approach. Proposed field excursion schedule included in the Annex. Related videos: Conservation Management ( https://vimeo.com/143955230 ) Living Landscapes in the Scottish Highlands ( https://youtu.be/2r9o_aKjmOI )

Resources

Literature

A full literature list will be provided, but key references include: Beckert, M., et al. (2016). Of trees and sheep: Trade-offs and synergies in farmland afforestation in the Scottish Uplands. Burton, V., et al. (2019). "Green Gold to Wild Woodlands; understanding stakeholder visions for woodland expansion in Scotland." Landscape Ecology 34(7): 1693-1713. Duckett, D., et al. (2016). "Tackling wicked environmental problems: The discourse and its influence on praxis in Scotland." Landscape and Urban Planning 154: 44-56. Fischer, A. and K. Marshall (2010). "Framing the landscape: Discourses of woodland restoration and moorland management in Scotland." Journal of Rural Studies 26(2): 185-193. Hobbs, R. (2009). "Woodland restoration in Scotland: Ecology, history, culture, economics, politics and change." Journal of Environmental Management 90(9): 2857-2865. Munoz-Rojas, J., et al. (2015). "Synergies and conflicts in the use of policy and planning instruments for implementing forest and woodland corridors and networks; a case study in NE Scotland." Forest Policy and Economics 57: 47-64. Thomas, H. J. D., et al. (2015). "Towards a research agenda for woodland expansion in Scotland." Forest Ecology and Management 349: 149-161.

General Information

Language: English
Levels: DR , MSC
Frequency: Every two years

Examination

Type: ungraded semester performance

Daily group work, and final synthesis in the form of a conceptual socio-ecological systems model.Students will produce for each day:(1) preparatory document on background, expectations, interview structure and content, and other information and data as relevant to each day.(2) a write-up and/or conceptual model of the key results and outcomes of the day based on a group debriefing session.Collated information across all days of the course will be used to build a final conceptual socio-ecological systems model on the last day.Students will organise themselves to share the effort and workload across the group.

Registration & Places

Signup End: 12.01.2025

Course Components

Type	Title	Time & Place	Hours
practical/laboratory course	Forest and Landscape Conservation and Management (Block Course) Takes place every other year. Field Course takes place 29 June to 12 July, 2025 in Scotland In the even years the following lecture takes place: 701-1456-00L Applied Ecosystem Management (Field Course in Serbia).	No time listed	120 h semesterly