2023/2024

The course aims to provide the tools and methodologies for analysing the territory at the planning scale. the main training objectives are: - Knowledge and comprehension skills: during the course, the student will acquire comprehension and problem-solving skills through analysis methodologies that simulate real contexts; - Applied knowledge and comprehension skills will be developed by the student through teaching integrated with laboratory activities in classrooms equipped with dedicated GIS software; - Autonomy of judgement in the "problem solving" phase in the risk contexts addressed during the course; - Communication skills through the drafting of reports and projects to be presented during the examination; - Ability to learn.

Knowledge of forest and environmental science disciplines such as dendrometry, silviculture, alpiculture, wildlife, dendrology

Notes, lecture notes, scientific articles and technical reports (available on the Moodle platform).
Agenda 2030 https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/
Forest Europe - ex Conferenze Ministeriali per la Protezione delle Foreste in Europa (MCPFE) http://www.foresteurope.org/
Rapporto stato foreste FAO http://www.fao.org/forestry/sofo/en/
Rete Natura 2000 e valutazione di incidenza
http://www.minambiente.it/home_it/menu.html?mp=/menu/menu_attivita/&m=Rete_Natura_2000.html
Life+
http://www.minambiente.it/home_it/menu.html?mp=/menu/menu_attivita/&m=LIFE_.html&lang=it
Protect area planning
http://www.minambiente.it/home_it/menu.html?mp=/menu/menu_attivita/&m=argomenti.html|Aree_naturali_pro
The site Management plan of Unesco world heritage
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/underwater-cultural-heritage/unesco-manual-for-activities-directed-at-underwater-cultural-heritage/unesco-manual/conservation-management/site-management-plan/

The origins of Western environmentalism. Historical cases of ecological planning of natural resources. The environmental issue and the foundation of the Ministry of the Environment. Towards sustainable development: from GDP to Fair and Sustainable Wellness (BES). Agenda 2030. The challenge of preserving natural capital (goods, eco-services, and biodiversity). The concept of sustainable use of natural resources: the framing of the problem.
FAO report on global forest resources and the state of forests: problems and prospects. Planning of the use of forest resources on the basis of the principles of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Forest Europe - former Ministerial Conferences for the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE). Forest monitoring and sustainable forest management indicators in Italy. The DPSIR logic scheme to frame the indicators.
Biogeography, bioclimatology, and macroecology. Landscape ecology. Disturbance ecology and the implications for ecological planning. Agents of abiotic and biotic disturbances. The natural dynamics of the temperate forest: cyclical dynamism and metastable states. The ancient forest. Fragmentation of forest ecosystems: natural processes and processes induced by man. Methods of analysis of the degree of fragmentation of a forest area. Forest ecosystems monitoring techniques in relation to space and time. The descriptors of the state and dynamic trends of forest ecosystems: indicators and indices. Metric for the definition of the integrity of forest ecosystems. Analysis of the status of a forest area and of natural dynamic trends. The case of the natural evolution of forest stands: from the managed forest to the ancient forest. The dendroecological approach: the principles of dendrochronology. Sampling and laboratory analysis. Demographic analysis and dynamism of forest ecosystems: mechanisms of renewal, age distribution, competitive processes and successions. The study of disorders in forest ecosystems: the reconstruction of the regime of fires and infestations. Dendroclimatology: effects of medium and low-frequency climatic variations and high frequency (response functions) on the growth of trees and forest stands; the characteristic intervals. Climate Reconstructions. The study of isotopes in dendroecology.
Forest planning. Principles of auxology and forest auxonomy. Forest management plans. Modality of forest compartmentalization. The environmental survey. The concept of a normal forest in forest management. Infrastructures and sustainable management of forest resources. Territorial information systems in forest planning. Forest planning and forest fires. Forest planning and restoration. Silvo-pastoral planning. Planning in protected areas: the park plan. Environmental certification processes. Environmental reporting. LIFE projects: illustration of case studies. Planning in protected areas (Park plan and management of the Natura 2000 network). The site management plan of Unesco World Heritage.

The teaching material is available on the Moodle platform
CANTIANI M., 1980. Appunti di assestamento forestale. Università di Firenze.
Nuove metodologie nella elaborazione dei piani di assestamento dei boschi. Manuale I.S.E.A. Istituto per lo sviluppo economico dell'appennino centro­settentrionale Bologna.

The course consists of lectures held in the classroom and applied activities in the forest landscapes. The field exercises concern concrete cases of planning and ecological management of forest resources and conservation of biodiversity (park planning, forest management planning, site management plan of Unesco World Heritage).

Optional

The level of learning achieved and the relative ability to communicate it are monitored through questions and discussions during lectures and field and laboratory exercises. In particular, the exercises constitute a fundamental moment of involvement of the students who are called to draw up a technical-scientific report based in part on group work and, therefore, on subsequent in-depth studies conducted during the study and personal application phase. This report also contributes to the assessment of the skills acquired in the area of ​​communication.
In the oral test for the attribution of the final grade the acquired level of knowledge, skills, and competence will be evaluated with particular reference to the critical understanding of principles and theories of forest ecological planning and to the ability to solve forest planning problems in this era of global changes. The student is invited to discuss a specific forest planning case of his choice, such as a park plan or forest property management plan. In particular, the acquisition by the student of the ability to apply in concrete cases - derived for example from field exercises - the theoretical concepts through analysis and synthesis reasoning, which also include interdisciplinary connections, will be verified.

    Gianluca PIOVESAN