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701-1635-00L 5 Credits MSC D-USYS

Silviculture for Resilient and Multifunctional Forests

Lecturers & Examiners: Dr. Mathieu Lévesque, Dr. Mathias Mayer
VVZ CR n/a

Last Updated: 2026-06-03 00:08:08

Abstract

Forests provide diverse ecosystem services. Silvicultural practices and forest management attempt to steer forest ecosystem processes in a sustainable and near-natural way so that forests can meet society's various requirements. Adaptivity to changing conditions (global changes), handling conflicting goals, and developing alternative management strategies are of central importance.

Objective

At the end of this course, participants will be able to: - Assess forest management and silvicultural measures to enhance forest resilience to global change and ensure the provisioning and continuity of ecosystem services, as well as evaluate their feasibility and effectiveness in various situations. - Critically evaluate silvicultural options for managing multifunctional forests and judge their feasibility and suitability, considering the various social expectations towards forest ecosystem services and potential conflicts and synergies among them. - Conduct research on an interdisciplinary topic, identify relevant literature, collect and summarize the information, present the results in a structured presentation, and discuss the implications for forest management.

Content

The course will cover important topics for the sustainable management of multifunctional forests and present silvicultural strategies to fulfil a variety of forest ecosystem goods and services. Current and future challenges of forest management and silviculture of European forests will be presented. The course is structured into the following sub-topics: 1) Adaptive silviculture in response to climate change and increasing disturbances. 2) Invasive alien species, implications for forest management and silviculture. 3) Non-native tree species: Risks, opportunities and silvicultural considerations. 4) Multifunctional forest management and wood production. 5) Multifunctional forest management and biodiversity conservation in European forests and silvicultural implications.

Resources

Lecture Notes

No class notes or text booksLecture presentations are available for download

Literature

Literature will be provided for the group presentations.

General Information

Language
English
Levels
MSC
Frequency
Yearly recurring

Examination

Type
session examination
Mode
oral 30 minutes
The final grade comprises a group presentation (compulsory continuous performance assessment, 25%) and an oral session exam (75%). The group presentations will take place between weeks 42 and 51 in the autumn semester 2025.In addition, participation in all 4 full-day excursions is a prerequisite for the credits. The excursions in the autumn semester 2026 will take place on Saturday, 26 September; Friday, 16 October; Saturday, 24 October; and Saturday, 31 October. Reserve day Saturday 7 November. If you cannot attend one excursion for good reasons (i.e., medical issues), the course leader will ask for compulsory replacement work for the missed excursion.

Course Components

Type Title Time & Place Hours
lecture with exercise Silviculture for Resilient and Multifunctional Forests
In addition to the lecture, 4 full-day excursions are mandatory to obtain the credits. During the fall semester 2026, the excursions will take place on the following days: Saturday September 26th, Friday October 16th, Saturday October 24th, and Saturday October 31st. Reserve day: Saturday November 7th.
No time listed 2 h weekly

Offered In

  • Umweltnaturwissenschaften Master
    • Vertiefung in Wald- und Landschaftsmanagement (Studierende, die vor HS25 die Vertiefung Wald- und Landschaftsmanagement begonnen haben, können die Vertiefung gemäss Wegleitung 2024/25 bzw. gemäss dieser Struktur abschliessen. Studierende, die zum HS25 oder später die Vertiefung Wald- und Landschaftsmanagement beginnen, studieren nach dem Reglement 2013, Ausgabe 29.04.2025 – 8. Die neue Struktur dieser Vertiefung (Wälder/Landschaften/ Böden/Daten) ist im aktuellen VVZ abgebildet.)
    • Vertiefung in Wald- und Landschaftsmanagement (gültig ab HS25) (Studierende, die zum HS25 oder später die Vertiefung Wald- und Landschaftsmanagement beginnen, studieren nach dem Reglement 2013, Ausgabe 29.04.2025 – 8. Die neue Struktur dieser Vertiefung ist im aktuellen VVZ abgebildet. Studierende, die vor HS25 die Vertiefung Wald- und Landschaftsmanagement begonnen haben, können die Vertiefung gemäss Wegleitung 2024/25 abschliessen.)