To provide knowledge on the main principles of forest ecology and silviculture for the management of forest ecosystems. To provide basic knowledge on ecology and silviculture of the main forest species in Italy.
The topics are distributed in blocks of about 1 CFU each:
1) Forest ecology •Ecology, forest complex systems, land management Historical development of silviculture ;
2) "Classic or traditional " Silviculture Elements of applied forest ecology, Silviculture: definition, objectives, near-to-nature and sustainable silviculture. Regeneration methods: coppice, high forest, coppice with standard. •Clearcut, shelterwood system, uneven aged method. • Thinning methods •• Man-induced modifications in forest ecosystems: quantitative and qualitative aspects; •
3) The recovery of degraded coppices. The compound coppice: modes of operation, advantages and disadvantages;
The conversion of a coppice to high forest. Conversion to natural evolution, direct method, indirect method: modes of operation, advantages and disadvantages;
4) The near to nature silviculture: history, concepts, applications to our territory
Basic lines of systemic silviculture: theoretical principles and operational modalities;
Sustainable forest management in the main Italian forests Mediterranean Forests forests of , maritime pine, forests of Aleppo pine, holm oaks;
Deciduous oaks and chestnut deciduous forests;
The cork forests and their management. restoration in degraded cork forests. Beech and silver fir forest: forests of black pine and laricio pine, silver fir forest, beech forests. Microthermal conifers;
5) History, present situation and perspectives of silviculture in Sardinia. Experimentation and first results in the implementation of systemic silviculture.