Module Identifier RD20120  
Module Title FORESTRY AND WOODLAND MANAGEMENT  
Academic Year 2007/2008  
Co-ordinator Dr Iwan G Owen  
Semester Semester 1  
Course delivery Lecture   2 x 2 hour lectures per week  
  Practical   6 x 3 hour practicals  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Assessment Planning and costing woodland management assignment Outcomes assessed: 2, 3, 5, 6  60%
Semester Exam3 Hours Outcomes assessed: 1, 4, 5  40%
Supplementary Assessment Students must re-present coursework based on alternative fieldwork data60%
Supplementary Exam3 Hours  40%

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:

Outcome 1
Evaluate the impact of current woodland policies for a given woodland.
Performance criteria:
a. An understanding of the effect of woodland policy on the Silvicultural system is demonstrated.   
b. An assessment is made of the opportunities and constraints filtering through current woodland policy.
Ranges
Rotation length, species choice, management prescription, additional facilities, financial benefits and costs, flexibility, strategy, certification, criteria for grant applications, locational incentives.



Outcome 2
Evaluate the opportunities and constraints of a specified site for establishing a new woodland.
Performance criteria
a. The natural processes operating are assessed.
b. The site is surveyed to identify key elements and features.
Ranges
Natural processes - regeneration, potential wind throw risk, recycling, decomposition, hydrological regime. Key elements and features, geology, soil, topography, ground flora, identification of current management practices/land use, access, species locally adapted to the site.

Outcome 3
Prepare and recommend a detailed species plan for a specified woodland location.
Performance criteria
a. The area is surveyed in order to gain relevant information.
b. Reference material required to plan the species prescription is gathered.
c. A species list for a given woodland objective is constructed and justified.
Ranges
Survey (desk and field): history, land use, tgreatment and past management, adjacent land areas, ecological survey, climate, geology, soils, access, constraints and opportunities.
Survey information, library research.
Species choice: Ojectives - game, short rotation coppice, conservation, landscape, recreation, timber/wood products, habitat creation. Relevance to site characteristics.

Outcome 4
Evaluate the main events in a woodland/forest rotation.
Performance criteria
a. The options for tree establishment are evaluated.
b. The proposals for management during the rotation period are assessed.
Ranges
Tree planting method, natural regeneration, direct sowing.
Management - beating up, tree protection, weed control, pruning, thinning, harvesting.

Outcome 5
Evaluate the practical management options for a given woodland.
Performance criteria
a.   Potential management options are appraised.
b. The factors that contribute to the success in achieving the woodland objectives are assessed.
Ranges
Intervention in succession and planting, degree of management input.
Management - intensive, commercial, limited intervention, non-intervention.
Factors - ecological, financial, managerial, aesthetic.

Outcome 6
Evaluate the economic costs of managing a woodland.
Performance criteria
a. An assessment is made of the costing of woodland establishment and protection
b. The financial implications of current grant aid incentives are assessed.
Ranges
Cost of planting stock, protection materials, labour, beat-up, applicable grant schemes, eg Woodland Grant Scheme,
Woodland Improvement Grant

Aims

Forestry is the secondary system of land use within the UK, occupying some 10% of the land area. With the current encouragement of forest expansion, this module is designed to prepare students in basic woodland management understanding, underpinned by practical hands-on experience.

The module aims to provide:

Reading Lists

Books
Hart C (1995) Practical Forestry for the Agent and Surveyor
Kohm K A and Franklin J F (1997) Creating a forestry for the 21st Century: the science of ecosystem management Island Press
Rodwell J S (ed) (1991) British plant communications Vol. 1: Woodlands and Scrub Cambridge University Press
Savill P S & Evans J (1986) Plantation Silviculture in Temperate Regions

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 5