Time Schedule:
Andrew J. Larson
CFR 501
Seattle Campus
Community ecology of forest ecosystems. Quantitative methods of community description. Role of limiting factors, competition and disturbance in determining community composition, structure and stability. Introduction to forest ecosystem productivity. History and application of successional theory. Prerequisite: basic ecology course or permission of instructor. Offered: A.
Class description
This course examines the complex processes and interactions that shape forest communities. Topics include: climate, ecophysiology, establishment and growth, extreme environments, forest stand development, competition, facilitation, agents of mortality, understory plants, fungi and mycorrhizae, fire, insects, disturbance interactions, trophic cascades, and unidirectional vegetation change.
This class serves three main constituencies: scientists; managers and policy advisors; and science educators. Community Ecology provides a foundation in ecological theory as well as in introduction to current trends and recent advances in the field. The course is designed to help develop your own research within the context of the field, teach or advise at any level, and to prepare you to assimilate and contribute advances in ecology during your career.
Student learning goals
After taking this course, students should be able to enter a forest ecosystem and analyze its present state, make inferences about its past, and speculate about its future. See course web page for more details.
General method of instruction
The course involves a combinations of field trips, lectures, and discussion sections. Readings are taken from the current ecological literature and from classic papers.
Recommended preparation
A basic foundation in ecology is helpful but not necessary.
Class assignments and grading
There are five written assignments and a take home final exam. See course web page for more details.
