Forestry 431
Regional Silviculture
Course Syllabus
Spring 1999



Instructor:
Dr. John W. Groninger
194F Ag. (Open door policy)
phone: 453-7462
email: groninge@siu.edu

Class Meetings:
M, W, F from 9:00-9:50 in Ag. 152

Catalog Description:
Designed to evaluate the various silvicultural practices as they are commonly employed in various regions of the United States.

Prerequisite:
Forestry 310 (Practices of Silviculture)

Objectives:

1. Develop an understanding of the physical, biological, social, historical and economic forces shaping past and present forest structure and composition in the various regions of the United States.

2. Learn how silvicultural practices have been adapted to address specific management problems throughout the United States.

3. Evaluate silvicultural alternatives for addressing present and anticipated future forest management-related problems and issues.

Text:
Barrett, J. W. (Ed.) 1994. Regional Silviculture of the United States. John Wiley and Sons, New York. (recommended)

Course Outline:

Review of underlying skills
Location of major physical and political features

Geology
Climate
Soils
Silviculture of major U.S. forest regions
Northeastern States
Southern Appalachians
Southern U.S. Pines/pine-hardwoods
Southern Bottomland Hardwoods
Great Lakes States
Northern Rocky Mountains
Southern Rocky Mountains
The Pacific Northwest
Other regions will be covered as time and interest warrant.
Within each region, the following topic areas will be discussed
location
history of land use
inventory of forest and land resources
land ownership
markets
social forces
the physical environment
major forest types
description of major forest types
species composition and silvical characteristics
site characteristics and geographical location
growth rates and product expectations
primary damaging agents
silvicultural systems
current management issues and silvicultural solutions


Grading:
Grades will be based on performance on three hour exams (20% each), a paper/presentation (25%), and several quizzes (15% total).

Quizzes will be announced at the beginning of lecture during the prior class period. Missed quizzes will result in a grade of "0" and cannot be made up. This applies to students arriving in class after a quiz has begun. However, the instructor will substitute a "100" for your single lowest quiz score when calculating final course grades.

Exam Schedule:

Exam 1: Friday, February 26
Exam 2: Wednesday, April 7
Exam 3: Friday, May 7


Missed examinations will result in a grade of "0" unless prior arrangements are made with the instructor.

Final grades will be calculated according to the following scheme.
 
Percent Grade
³90.00
A
80.00-89.99
B
70.00-79.99
C
60.00-69.99
D
<60.00
F

A curve may or may not be applied to the final course grade at the discretion of the instructor.



If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this class, please contact the instructor.