Course Description
This course introduces students forest ecosystem services, with special emphasis on the southeastern United States, one of the most productive and biodiverse forest regions in the country. Students will explore how forests provide essential services and how these services are measured, managed, valued, and incorporated into policy and planning.
Athena Title
Forest Ecosystem Services
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in FANR 2888E
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
- Students will define major categories of forest ecosystem services (provisioning, regulating, cultural, supporting).
- Students will describe the ecological processes that generate ecosystem services, especially in southeastern U.S. forests.
- Students will explain how forest management practices influence ecosystem service production.
- Students will apply common methods for assessing and valuing ecosystem services (biophysical, economic, social).
- Students will interpret maps, remote sensing data, and ecological indicators related to ecosystem services.
- Students will evaluate tradeoffs among forest uses and management strategies.
- Students will analyze the role of ecosystem services in land use planning, conservation policy, and climate mitigation.
- Students will communicate ecosystem service concepts to policymakers, landowners, and the public.
Topical Outline
- Introduction to Ecosystem Services
• Millennium Ecosystem Assessment framework
• Ecosystem service categories
• Why forests matter globally and locally
- Ecological Foundations
• Net primary productivity
• Habitat structure and biodiversity
- Forests of the Southeastern U.S.
• Pine plantation systems (loblolly, slash)
• Bottomland hardwoods and longleaf pine ecosystems
• Disturbance regimes: fire, storms, pests
- Provisioning Services
• Timber production systems
• Non-timber forest products (NTFPs)
- Regulating Services I: Carbon Sequestration & Climate
• Carbon cycling in forest systems
• Carbon accounting and MRV
• Forest carbon markets and offsets (U.S. voluntary markets)
- Regulating Services II: Water & Soil
• Watershed protection, filtration, and flood control
• Water yield
• Riparian buffers
• Soil conservation and stability, erosion and sediment control
- Regulating and Supporting Services III: Biodiversity & Habitat
• Species richness in southeastern forests
• Management for wildlife
• Pollination and pest control services
- Cultural Ecosystem Services
• Recreation and tourism
• Aesthetics values
- Measuring and Modeling Ecosystem Services
• Field data and methods
• Remote sensing
• Spatial modeling tools
- Economic Valuation
• Conceptual framework for economic valuation
• Stated vs revealed preferences
• Market and non-market valuation
• Overview of value estimates
• Limitations and alternatives to economic valuation
- Forest Management & Tradeoffs
• Silviculture approaches and their service implications
• Tradeoff analysis and multi-objective planning
• Case studies from the Southeast
- Ecosystem Services in Policy & Planning
• Conservation easements
• Wetland and endangered species regulations
• Climate policy and natural climate solutions
- Future Challenges
• Climate change impacts
• Land-use change and urbanization
• Emerging markets and green finance
